The World Food Programme (WFP), has stated that more than $182 million is needed to sustain lifesaving aid to Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria over the next six months.
Elisabeth Byrs, the WFP Senior Spokesperson in a statement made available to DAILY INDEPENDENT said: “We are concerned by conflict-affected communities in North East Nigeria who already face extreme hunger and who are especially vulnerable.
“They are on life-support and need assistance to survive,” making reference to Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States.
According to the statement, “The three so-called BAY states (Borno, Adamawa and Yobe) have been plagued by a decade-long insurgency that has spilled over into the Lake Chad region.
“It remains among the most severe humanitarian crises in the world, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), with some 7.9 million mainly women and children in need of urgent assistance.
“That’s why WFP is now distributing two months’ worth of food and nutrition assistance in IDP camps and among vulnerable communities to ensure that people have enough food while they are on full or partial lockdown”, Ms Byrs said, outlining plans to help a total of 1.8 million people there.
Commenting on the impact of the lockdown, the statement quoted the latest World Health Organisation (WHO) data that indicates that the country has seen more than 12,800 confirmed cases of new coronavirus and over 360 deaths linked to the respiratory disease.
“More than 3.8 million people mainly working in the informal sector, face losing their jobs amid rising hardship, Ms. Byrs said, and this could rise to 13 million if movement restrictions continue for a longer period.
“This would add to the almost 20 million (23 per cent of the labour force) already out of work,” the WFP spokesperson said.
“In a country where about 90 million people – 46 per cent of the population – live on less than $2 a day, this is a real concern”, Ms. Byrs continued.
“The urban poor who depend on a daily wage to feed themselves and their families have been very hit by movement restrictions to contain the spread of the virus”.
Byrs however, said three million individuals among the most vulnerable, would receive help, with additional support to government social protection systems in the cities of Abuja, Kano and Lagos – places where the agency has not been present until now.
“We are actually scaling up our operations in the Northeast to serve more people in response to the new challenges of more food insecurity posed by COVID-19.”
“However, there have been a few delays with COVID-19 containment movement restrictions that are affecting supply chains.
“These have been generally managed and we have continued providing assistance. We continue to appeal to all parties to ensure access to people in need and respect humanitarian space.”
The statement explained that WFP’s involvement has included re-adjusting school meals programmes during school closures by providing food to take home, adding that the initiative kicked off in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and the commercial capital Lagos, in mid-May.
