*says 4.1m people in need of food assistance in North East NIgeria
By; SADIQ ABUBAKAR, Maiduguri
The new Sweden funding of SEK 26 million (US$ 2.7 million) is to be implemented by UNICEF and partners to help improve access to safe water, sanitation systems and hygiene for 86,000 conflict-affected women and children in North-East Nigeria.
A statement issued on Wednesday by the UNICEF Communication Officer, Ms Folashade Adebayo and made available to newsmen in Maiduguri, said that the congestion in camps and settlements, high rates of open defecation and poor sanitation practices have put conflict-affected families and children at the risk of disease outbreaks and preventable deaths.
The statement added that insecurity, loss of livelihood opportunities, high food prices and COVID-19 combined have put 4.1 million people in need of food assistance, drastically impacting the food and nutrition quality available for children in the region.
According to the statement, North-East Nigeria is currently experiencing its highest burden of acute malnutrition since 2016, with 34 per cent projected increase in the burden of acute malnutrition in the lean season of 2022, compared to 2021.
It suggested that unless urgent actions are taken, at least 1.7 million under five children in North-East Nigeria will need acute malnutrition treatment in 2022.
“Malnutrition, the single most deadly threat to child survival and development is dealing children in north-east Nigeria a deadly hand.
“Insecurity, global hike in food prices and ongoing humanitarian interventions targeting early detection at the household level are resulting in a record number of under five children presenting symptoms of acute malnutrition and needing urgent life-saving services.
“UNICEF is grateful that the support from SIDA will not only help to scale treatment services to more children and address contributory water and sanitation services issues in camps and settlements, but will also help increase investment in preventive nutrition services targeting pregnant women and lactating mothers with maternal nutrition services,’’ said Peter Hawkins, UNICEF Representative in Nigeria.
It would be recalled that thirteen years of armed conflict in north-east Nigeria has left women and children in acute vulnerability.
