Source: africanews
UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, says for the year 2016, it has received 40% of the $11 million it needs for humanitarian support in northeast Nigeria.

 

They are however appealing to the donor community to increase support to meet the urgent needs of victims, especially women and girls.

“Women and girls in north-east Nigeria face a severe crisis as they struggle to cope with acute malnutrition, sexual violence and exploitation, severe trauma, high rates of maternal death and other risks to their health and well-being,” said UNFPA Executive Director, Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin.

“Meeting their urgent needs demands a strengthened response,” he added.

The UNFPA boss was speaking days after the Nigerian army together with development partners officially handed over 566 rescued women and children to the Borno State government.

Since the beginning of this year, the army has helped rescue over 800,000 persons from the Boko Haram sect, most of whom have been deprived of all forms of humanitarian aid for years and need urgent life-saving support.

The UNFPA said it was working with partners to scale up its response especially in Borno State, home of 70% of displaced persons. Boko Haram instigated violence has displaced over 2 million people in Nigeria’s northeast.

The UN agency is looking to expand services for sexual and reproductive health and for preventing and tackling gender-based violence, so as to reach 4.5 million affected people.

So far in 2015 and 2016, UNFPA has reached 3.2 million people with information and services for sexual and reproductive health, and against gender-based violence, in areas affected by the insurgency.

UNFPA is an international development agency that is delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.

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• Nigeria