By Samuel Oyejola
The World Food Programmes has said that to avert food crisis in the North-East of Nigeria the body need 200million dollars before the beginning of the second quarter of 2018.
The crisis is as a result of depleting resources by humanitarian bodies especially the world food programmes that coordinate the provision and distribution of food and nutritional supplements to internally displaced persons in the region.
This was made known in Abuja by the Regional Director of the World Food Programme in African region, Abdou Dieng.
He said that the body needed over 400million dollars for its humanitarian actions in the region in 2018. Noting that, some of the needed funds for efforts in 2017 that would expire in April are yet to be actualized. He said should the WFP lack fund for its effort food crisis in the region is inevitable.
Dieng explained that not only is the WFP supporting the Internally Displaced Persons with humanitarian efforts through donations for international donors, he said that the 75% of food distributed to the IDPs are generated within the country.
He pointed out that the effort and the motive is to empower farmers in the country and contribute to the economic growth while offering humanitarian assistance.
For many children in the region, a school meal is the only nutritious food they get
He also revealed that apart from dispensing of food to beneficiaries the programes also give out cash for money to some of the IDPs through cash based transfers for delivering food.
Time Nigeria gathered that WFP disburses around $3million on average every month to 193,000 people in seven local government areas in Borno and Yobe. By the December 2017, WFP said that the number has increased to almost 300,000 in eight local governments.
He pointed out that of all the 1billion dollars humanitarian fund needed for the region over 50% is need for food security.
“We must address the challenge of food shortage if we don’t it may spill over. More than 50% of the 1billion dollars us what is needed,” he said.