UNITED NATIONS, June 20 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations has allocated 20 million U.S. dollars for an urgent food security and nutrition campaign for hunger-hit northeast Nigeria, a UN spokesman said on Tuesday.
With 9 million dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund and 11 million dollars from the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund, "we will support the government-led response efforts across Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states," said Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Haq said the assistance includes food, ready-to-eat meals, access to clean water, health care and agriculture support.
Almost 700,000 children under five are likely to suffer from life-threatening severe acute malnutrition this year in this region and more than 500,000 people may face emergency levels of food insecurity during the lean season from June to August, he said, citing reports from humanitarian partners.
"The emergency funding will help jumpstart the response, but humanitarian partners need more to prevent widespread hunger and malnutrition," he said.
The spokesman also said the 1.3 billion dollar humanitarian response plan for Nigeria this year is only 26 percent funded.
Humanitarians blamed violence from armed groups and the effects of climate change for the food crisis in northeast Nigeria.
