The United Nations’ World Food Programme has expressed concern over the consequences of insecurity in Nigeria, which has reportedly displaced about 200,000 people in the North-East and left almost 500,000 struggling for survival.
According to a statement by the organisation on Saturday, a number of those who are displaced were seeking refuge in Niger, Cameroon and Chad, while others are waiting at the borders.
“Nearly half a million people – refugees, returnees, internally displaced persons and local communities – face an acute food security and livelihood crisis,” added the WFP spokesperson, Elisabeth Byrs, during a press conference in Geneva.
Emphasising the plight of newly arriving refugee children in Niger and Cameroon, as well as the rate of civilians in the North-East fleeing attacks perpetrated by Boko Haram, Byrs said malnutrition rates have surpassed emergency thresholds.
“In some violence-affected areas near the Cameroon-Nigeria border, acute malnutrition rates among children under five years of age could be as high as 36 per cent.
“With the arrival of the rainy season, already stretched health centres would struggle to cope. As food became scarce, some 4,000 refugees have moved to the Minawao refugee camp since the end of April.
“Displaced people said they could not rely for help on host communities, which are already struggling to access food,” she added.
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