North-eastern Nigeria: Half a million people one step away from famine

With half a million people one step away from famine in north-eastern Nigeria, UN humanitarians are sounding the alarm bell on Wednesday at a briefing at the United Nations in Geneva asking for urgently needed funding to provide life-saving operations.

“The number of people facing severe hunger in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states, the three key areas where we are working as a humanitarian community, the number of people facing severe hunger is 4.3 million, up from 4.1 million last year. More than half a million people are facing emergency levels of food insecurity, which is one step away from famine,” said the UN’s top humanitarian official in the country, Matthias Schmale.

As a result of the alarming food security and nutrition crisis in the country, an estimated 6 million people need immediate food assistance.  

Particularly staggering are the numbers of children affected by this crisis. 700,000 children under the age of five years are at risk of life-threatening severe acute malnutrition, a number which has doubled compared to last year.

“What we are talking about in the north-east is 700,000 children and this by itself, it’s really alarming,” said Cristian Munduate, UNICEF Country Representative in Nigeria. “It is those children that are very close of dying, who really need immediate therapeutical response in health facilities. But we also have moderate, acute malnutrition and stunted children that require complementary feeding.”

The humanitarian coordinator also pointed out that the crisis is disproportionately affecting women and girls who face increased risk of violence, including abduction, rape and sexual abuse.  Out of 2.2 million internally displaced persons (IDP), over the half are female.

“This crisis is primarily the result of years of protracted conflict”, said Mr. Schmale. “We are in the 13th year of a non-international armed conflict and the insecurity that comes with the conflict that continues to prevent many people from farming or earning their own income.” He added that “what we see more and more is illegal vehicle checkpoints by non-state armed actors and improvised explosive device attacks. That is what is making road movement risky and again, of course, is affecting severely the population.”

High food and fuel prices also have increased the cost of humanitarian operations. Due to security concerns, the north-eastern part of Nigeria can only be accessed by helicopter.  

“Deep trenches circling these villages, and the IDPs live inside the trenches. They can't go outside the trenches”, explained David Stevenson, director for the World Food Programme in Nigeria. “The government policy, the military policy, the police policy agrees that it's not safe for them to go outside those trenches. So, when we fly in, the farmers’ fields are empty. We look out the window, there's no farmers there. And yet it's a farming area. So, they're dependent on food assistance for two reasons, because they're in camps and they're hungry.”

Climate change also had a significant impact on the country’s development.

“Nigeria is one of the countries across the Sahel that's on the frontline of the climate crisis,” said Mr. Schmale. “Last year we saw the worst floods in ten years in Nigeria, not just the north-east, which expected more than 4.4 million people across the country.”

Overall, the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan for north-east Nigeria requesting US$1.3 billion dollars is only 25 per cent funded (336.7 million) at mid-year.

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1. Exterior medium shot: UN Palais with flags
2. Wide shot: speaker and moderator behind podium at the press conference, screens with speaker on both sides of the podium
3. SOUNDBITE (English) – Matthias Schmale, Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria: “The number of people facing severe hunger in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states, the three key ones where we are working as a humanitarian community, the number of people facing severe hunger is 4.3 million, up from 4.1 million last year. More than half a million people are facing emergency levels of food insecurity, which is one step away from famine.”
4. Wide shot: speakers and moderator at podium, screen with speaker, attendee in the foreground taking notes
5. SOUNDBITE (English) – Cristian Munduate, UNICEF Country Representative, Nigeria: “It is those children that are very close of dying, who really need immediate therapeutical response in health facilities. But we also have moderate, acute malnutrition and stunted children that require complementary feeding.”
6. Medium shot: speakers at podium
7. SOUNDBITE (English) – Cristian Munduate, UNICEF Country Representative, Nigeria: “The big numbers of acute, severe acute malnutrition. What we are talking about in the Northeast is 700,000 children and this by itself, it’s really alarming.”
8. Medium shot: speaker at podium, attendee’s laptop in the foreground
9. SOUNDBITE (English) – Matthias Schmale, Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria: “This crisis is primarily the result of years of protracted conflict. We are in the 13th year of a non-international armed conflict and the insecurity that comes with the conflict that continues to prevent many people from farming or earning their own income.”
10. Close shot: attendee at the press conference
11. SOUNDBITE (English) – Matthias Schmale, Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria: “What we see more and more is illegal vehicle checkpoints by non-state armed actors and improvised explosive device attacks. That is what is making road movement risky and again, of course, is affecting severely the population.”
12. Medium shot: speakers and moderator at podium, moderator in the foreground
13. SOUNDBITE (English) – David Stevenson, World Food Programme Country Director, Nigeria: “Deep trenches circling these villages. And the IDPs live inside the trenches. They can't go outside the trenches. The government policy, the military policy, the police policy agrees that it's not safe for them to go outside those trenches. So, when we fly in, the farmers’ fields are empty. Look out the window, there's no farmers there. And yet it's a farming area. So, they're dependent on food assistance for two reasons, because they're in camps and they're hungry.”
14. Close shot: attendee taking notes at the press conference
15. SOUNDBITE (English) – Matthias Schmale, Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria: “Nigeria is one of the countries across the Sahel that's on the frontline of the climate crisis. Last year we saw the worst floods in ten years in Nigeria, not just the north-east, which expected more than 4.4 million people across the country.”
16. Wide shot: speakers and moderator at podium, screen with speaker, attendee and moderator in the foreground
17. Close shot: attendee taking notes
18. Close shot: attendee taking a picture