The United Kingdom on Tuesday announced a plan to spend £15 million to address the food and nutritional needs of vulnerable people in three states in the north-east of Nigeria, which are Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe.
According to a statement by the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office, the gesture is meant to deliver life-saving activities for vulnerable people, including malnourished women and children.
The statement partly read, “The UK has announced that it will spend £15 million of emergency humanitarian funding to provide vital food and nutrition assistance for vulnerable people in the north-east Nigerian states of Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe.
“The money will fund the United Nations Children’s Fund and World Food Programme to deliver life-saving activities to respond to crisis and emergency levels of food insecurity and malnutrition for vulnerable people, including malnourished women and children.
“This food assistance funding is part of the UK’s wider commitment to prioritise life-saving humanitarian aid to communities around the world who are most vulnerable due to the ongoing combination of crises.”
Acknowledging the UK’s assistance, the Minister for Africa, Vicky Ford, said, “Millions of people across the Sahel and West Africa are unimaginably suffering from hunger and malnutrition.
“That’s why the UK will step up with an urgent £38 million of humanitarian funding, reaching those most vulnerable and saving lives across the region.
“The number of people facing starvation is at its worst for a decade. While this UK funding is a necessity, it has to be part of a bigger international effort. “We are calling on international partners to enhance our collective support and scale-up intervention to halt this humanitarian catastrophe.”
Also, the Acting British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Gill Atkinson, noted that the funds from the UK will crush starvation.
He said, “As the conflict continues, 4.1 million people are facing a food crisis in north-east Nigeria. Through this emergency funding, the UK has allocated £15 million of humanitarian assistance to tackle food insecurity and malnutrition among the region’s most vulnerable people, including women and children.
“This life-saving aid will help stave off starvation and support people to become more resilient.”
The UK also announced further humanitarian funding to several West African countries in the Sahel region today, including Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Niger. When combined with the £15 million funding allocated to North-East Nigeria, this humanitarian funding totals £37.65 million.
