Lagos, Nigeria
Reuters
The United Nations on Thursday appealed for $US1.3 billion to provide assistance to six million Nigerians who are suffering the impact of a long-running Islamist insurgency in the north-east of the country.
The militant Boko Haram group and its offshoot, Islamic State West Africa Province, have been fighting Nigerian security forces in the north-east for over a decade, displacing more than two million people and killing hundreds of others, aid agencies say.
Matthias Schmale, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator for Nigeria said the “large-scale humanitarian and protection crisis shows no sign of abating”.
The number of children suffering from acute malnutrition was projected to increase to two million this year, up from 1.74 million last year, the UN said.
“Women and girls are the hardest hit,” Schmale said when launching the financial appeal in north-eastern Adamawa state.
He said more than 80 per cent of people in need of aid across three states – Borno, Adamawa and Yobe – were women and children.
“They face increased risks of violence, abduction, rape and abuse,” he said.
Nigeria’s government says it is winning the fight against insurgents and that some areas have now been cleared of militants and are safe for villagers to return.
