$1bn spent on humanitarian response in Nigeria’s Northeast in 18 months – UN

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs,UNOCHA, says it spent at least $1.1 billion in its humanitarian response in Nigeria’s Northeast in the past 18 months.

UNOCHA’s Humanitarian Dashboard for the First and Second Quarter of 2022 showed that 11.6 million locals had been targeted for food, health and shelter, among other forms of intervention in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.

Despite the aid, the Office could only reach 8.3 million residents due to what it described as “funds shortage”.

This population comprises three groups: Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, returnees and inhabitants of host communities.

“The Humanitarian Response Plan is now 70 per cent funded. Some sectors remain vastly underfunded by the US $1.1 billion requested funding, forcing response partners to prioritise interventions in communities ranked highest on the severity scale.

“Despite this funding shortfall, 124 humanitarian actors responded to the most acute needs. Together, they delivered humanitarian assistance to 4.7 million people since January 2022, accounting for 84 per cent of the estimated people identified for assistance,” it said.

The Boko Haram insurgency had, in the last fourteen years caused insecurity in Nigeria’s Northeast, and UNOCHA described the ensuing humanitarian crisis as one of the most complex in the world.

Recall that in October 2017, the Federal Government established the North East Development Commission to facilitate the reconstruction and development of the region.

The Commission earmarked N31 billion for its 10-year North East Stabilisation and Development Master Plan in September 2022.