The United Nations has called on President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime to commit more resources and to implement mitigation measures to save lives and prevent a potentially catastrophic food security and nutrition situation.
UN associate spokeswoman Stephanie Tremblay, who made the call at a news conference in New York on Monday, also called on the donor community and public and private stakeholders to commit resources to address food insecurity in the country.
According to her, nearly 25 million Nigerians are at risk of hunger between June and August this year if urgent action is not taken.
A press release posted on UNICEF’s website stated that continued conflict, climate change, inflation, and rising food prices, were key drivers of this alarming trend.
“Food access has been affected by persistent violence in the north-east states of Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe and armed banditry and kidnapping in states such as Katsina, Sokoto, Kaduna, Benue, and Niger.
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“This is according to the October 2022 – we call that in French – Cadre Harmonisé, a food and nutrition analysis led by the government of Nigeria, in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organisation, UNICEF and the World Food Programme,” said Ms Tremblay.
The UN official explained that continued conflict, climate change, inflation and rising food prices were the key drivers of this alarming trend, noting that children were the most vulnerable to food insecurity.
Meanwhile, speaking on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the spokesperson said the secretary-general strongly condemned the deadly attack at a church in Kasindi on Sunday, in the North Kivu province, in Congo’s east.
She said UN peacekeeping colleagues on the ground had reported that the casualty toll increased to 13 civilians killed and 76 injured, of whom 19 were in critical condition.
“The UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is providing medical evacuation by air and road to the injured, in coordination, of course, with Congolese authorities. The UN mission’s ambulances and medical teams are also on standby to reinforce national capacities if required,” Ms Tremblay said.
According to her, the secretary-general stressed the need to hold the perpetrators of this attack to account.
She further said the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) was supporting the Congolese authorities in investigating the incident’s circumstances.
