UN allocates $20m for urgent food aid campaign in NE Nigeria

The United Nations has allocated $20 million for an urgent food security and nutrition campaign for hunger-hit northeast Nigeria, a UN spokesman said on Tuesday.

With $9 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund and $11 million from the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund, "we will support the government-led response efforts across Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states," said the deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.The assistance includes food, ready-to-eat meals, and access to clean water, health care and agriculture support.

Almost 700,000 children under five are likely to suffer from life-threatening severe acute malnutrition this year in this region and more than 500,000 people may face emergency levels of food insecurity during the lean season from June to August. The spokesman also said the 1.3 billion dollar humanitarian response plan for Nigeria this year is only 26 percent funded.