Australia donates $2.2m to emergency food response in North East

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has received a contribution of $2.2 million from the Government of Australia that will provide food and nutritional assistance to tens of thousands of people in northeastern Nigeria, where the Boko Haram insurgency and the current lean season have intensified hunger.

Australian High Commissioner in Nigeria, Paul Lehmann said “The scale of the humanitarian situation in the northeast of Nigeria and the Lake Chad region demands an action-oriented response. The Australian government is proud to be working with our long-standing partner, the World Food Programme, to offer an important contribution to the combined efforts aimed at relieving the suffering of the communities most affected.”

The funding will support WFP food assistance to nearly 111,000 people, including specialised nutritional food for some 47,000 pregnant and nursing women. It comes as an estimated 5.2 million people face intense hunger during the period between harvests. Experts believe as many as 50,000 people are experiencing famine-like conditions.

“We are grateful to Australia for its continuous support to families in northeastern Nigeria,” said Ronald Sibanda, WFP Representative and interim Nigeria country director. “This contribution is timely as it will help us reach the most vulnerable at a critical period of the year.” With this most recent contribution, the Australian Government has provided a total of AUD$15.7 million (US$12.3 million) over the past year for WFP’s humanitarian response in northeastern Nigeria and the broader Lake Chad region.