World / Africa Boko Haram-ravaged areas in Nigeria need $1bn in aid, says the UN BL PREMIUM

Abuja — The UN on Thursday said more than $1bn in funding was needed this year to help millions of people affected by Boko Haram’s Islamist insurgency in northeast Nigeria. The humanitarian co-ordinator in Nigeria, Edward Kallon, said "life-saving emergency assistance to the most vulnerable" in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states was the "immediate priority". Funding would also go towards improving the quality of programmes already in place and increasing the ability of local agencies to respond in the longer term, he added. "In doing so, humanitarian partners will require $1.05bn to reach 6.1-million people with humanitarian assistance," he said in the foreword to the 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan. Launching the document in Abuja, Kallon said about 70% of last year’s appeal for $1bn in funding was met, making Nigeria "one of the best-funded appeals globally". A total of $196m has been carried over and will go towards programmes providing food, shelter, clean water, education for out-o...