Matthias Schmale, United Nations top humanitarian official in Nigeria, told journalists in Geneva that, among them, the number of children under-five at risk of life-threatening severe acute malnutrition has doubled in one year to 700,000.
“I have been to Borno and the other two states several times. I’ve seen mothers fighting for lives of their malnourished children in nutrition stabilisation centres.
“Those of us who are parents must imagine what it’s like when you cannot ensure your children have enough to eat,” Schmale lamented.
He said the “catastrophic” situation is primarily the result of more than a decade of insecurity linked to non-state armed groups, which prevent people from farming and earning income from the land.
Last year saw the worst floods in 10 years in Nigeria, which affected more than 4.4 million people across the country, not just the North East.
Soaring prices of food, fuel and fertilisers have exacerbated the crisis, and the response remains severely underfunded.
Schmale said out of the $1.3 billion in humanitarian funding needed for the region, only 25 per cent has been secured so far.
Gross violations of human rights are being inflicted on more than 6,800 children in North East Nigeria, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) had alerted in April.
UNICEF representative in Nigeria Cristian Munduate lamented the grave consequences of conflict on children nine years after Boko Haram abducted 276 schoolgirls from Chibok with 96 of them still remaining in captivity.
She said the impact of the conflict on education is alarming and the repercussions likely to affect generations are “devastating reality.”
The recent abduction of 80 children in Zamfara reinforces the urgent need for action to protect children in Nigeria, Munduate pressed in Abuja.
“The statistics are disturbing; the reality is devastating. It has been nine years since the horrendous abduction of the Chibok girls, yet the nightmare continues as children are still being kidnapped, forcibly recruited, killed and injured– their futures torn away,” she lamented.
“We cannot turn a blind eye to the suffering of Nigeria’s children. We must do everything in our power to ensure they grow up in safety, with access to education and the opportunity to fulfil their potential.” 2,295 teachers killed, 910 schools destroyed
“Since 2014, there have been over 2,400 incidents of grave violations verified, affecting over 6,800 children in the North-East,” Munduate said.
“The most common violations are recruitment or use of children by armed groups with 700 verified cases, followed by abductions of children, with 693 incidents, and killing and maiming, with 675 incidents.
“Between 2009 and 2022, around 2,295 teachers were reportedly killed in attacks, over 19,000 teachers were displaced, more than 1,500 schools closed because of insecurity, and 910 schools were destroyed.”
UNICEF implored the government to rehabilitate all children encountered in the course of armed conflict or released from armed groups.
