•Over 7m people, 4.2m children in need of humanitarian assistance
The UNICEF has expressed concern that their humanitarian assistance activities are hampered by the volatile security situation across Borno State occasion by the Boko Haram terrorists and Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) as well as the counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations of the Nigerian military in the North East.
UNICEF in its latest situation overview report on humanitarian needs published by ReliefWeb on Thursday, said there continue to be urgent, unmet humanitarian needs in Rann (Kala Balge LGA), where security risks remain high and access is severely constrained.
It also noted that about 7.1 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in the northeast states of Borno, Adamawa and
Yobe, out of which are 4.2 million children are in need of humanitarian assistance (Humanitarian Response Plan, 2019). Also about 6.1 million people were targeted in the northeast states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe with about 1.76 million Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in those three states as at January 2019 (IOM DTM Round XXIV, January 2019).
According to the UN Agency, “the security situation remains volatile, with a significant impact on humanitarian access. Four LGAs remain completely inaccessible (Abadam, Guzamala, Kukawa, and Marte) to humanitarian actors while access to Kala Balge LGA (Rann) remains severely constrained.
“UNICEF has only been able to conduct a limited number of day trips to Rann (Kala Balge LGA), where the nutritional situation of children appears to be deteriorating. Acute needs have also been identified by other sectors, including WASH, shelter/NFI and food security.”
The UN Children’s Fund further noted: “Many other LGAs are only partially accessible, and the number of armed clashes and attacks remains consistently high across the state. A marked deterioration in road security has further increased humanitarian actors’ reliance on UNHAS helicopters to reach many locations, including Monguno (where there are significant humanitarian needs following the arrival of nearly 15,000 newly displaced persons over the past six months).
“Humanitarian actors consider it unlikely that the security situation in the majority of LGAs of Borno will allow for any population return in the near future, either of IDPs or refugees.”
