By Enyichukwu Enemanna
The United Nations on Thursday, launched a $1.3 billion humanitarian assistance to provide succour to over six million Nigerians, who are victims of the more than one decade of insurgency in the North East region of the country.
Several thousands of persons have been killed by the ISWAP-linked Boko Haram terror group, while millions have been displaced from their original inhabitants, even as livelihood has largely been affected in the insurgency-ravaged region.
The UN resident and humanitarian coordinator for Nigeria, Matthias Schmale said the “large-scale humanitarian and protection crisis shows no sign of abating”.
“Women and girls are the hardest hit,” Schmale said when launching the financial appeal in northeastern Adamawa state.
He added, “They face increased risks of violence, abduction, rape and abuse,” he said.
Schmale noted that more than 80% of people in need of aid across three states – Borno, Adamawa and Yobe – were women and children.
A United Nations source said, the number of children suffering from acute malnutrition was projected to increase to 2 million this year, up from 1.74 million last year, the U.N. said.
Several billions of Naira invested in procuring military hardware for prosecution of the war has yielded minimal result, as the terror organisation aided by armed bandits keep wrecking havoc.
