Following a trip to Maiduguri at the center of the Boko Haram insurgency this week, USAID’s Office for
Foreign Disaster Assistance Director Jeremy Konyndyk announced $37
million in new funding to support additional humanitarian assistance for
people affected by the conflict and severe food insecurity in Nigeria
and throughout the Lake Chad Basin.
At a press conference Wednesday, August 10, at the Nigerian Emergency Management
Agency, Konyndyk said the funding for assistance implemented by
international NGOs and UN agencies brings the total USAID humanitarian
support for the region to $318 million since last year. The United
States is the single largest humanitarian donor to the region.
"The United States is committed to supporting Nigeria to ease this
humanitarian crisis,” Konyndyk said, and help sustain this vulnerable
population until they can resume livelihoods upended by conflict.
Despite gradually improving security conditions, the humanitarian
situation remains dire. Throughout the region, approximately 5 million
people need emergency food assistance and 2.5 million people are
displaced.
"These issues are enormous," Muhammad Sani Sidi,
director general of the Nigeria Emergency Management Agency said, but
added we are working toward a "full recovery," including job skills
training for the displaced.
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