Unicef: 2 million people face hunger in Borne Nigeria

According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), An estimated quarter of a million children in Borno state, North-East Nigeria, are faced with shortage of food and are risk with death. This is believed to be caused by humanitarian crisis caused by the Boko Haram emergency. This is disclosed by Walton Beckley, a nutrition specialist with the world body, at the commencement of a training for health workers in the three states of the Northeast on nutrition management aimed at saving 450,000 malnourished children in the IDP camps from dying of malnutrition in 2017. According to Beckley, the exercise was aimed at curbing the rate of malnutrition posed by the Boko Haram crisis in the Northeast. It is likely that one out of five children suffering from severe acute malnutrition in Borno will die if they are not reached with treatment. The UN children’s agency urges all partners to join the humanitarian response and donors to urgently provide resources. "Some 134 children on average will die every day from causes linked to acute malnutrition if the response is not scaled up quickly," said Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF Regional Director for Western and Central Africa, who visited Borno state recently. "We need all partners and donors to step forward to prevent any more children from dying. No one can take on a crisis of this scale alone." Fontaine said "there are 2 million people we are still not able to reach in Borno state, which means that the true scope of this crisis has yet to be revealed to the world". The reported also indicated that UNICEF is working with partners to screen and treat children for malnutrition and improve access to water and sanitation. UNICEF’s humanitarian response also includes providing medical care, immunization, education and psychological support to the children affected by the violence. Sources: Unicef.org Dailytrust