International

UN Says US396 million Needed Urgently to Avert Catastrophic Humanitarian Crisis in Northeast

Published

11 months ago

May 18, 2023

Ochuwa Ibrahim

UN Says US396 million Needed Urgently to Avert Catastrophic Humanitarian Crisis in Northeast

By: Michael Mike

The United Nations has said US$396 million is urgently needed to salvage a catastrophic humanitarian crisis in the nation’s Northeast.

The UN decried that should something not urgently be done to address the situation, humanitarian partners will only reach about 300,000 of the 4.3 million at-risk people in need of food assistance in the troubled Northeast region of Nigeria during the lean season.

A statement on Thursday by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA) after the Launch of the Lean Season Food Security and Nutrition Crisis Multi-sector Plan 2023 said: “To prevent a widespread hunger and malnutrition crisis in north-east Nigeria from turning fully catastrophic US$396 million is urgently needed to scale up humanitarian action in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) states.”

The UN decried that: “More than half a million people may face emergency levels of food insecurity, with extremely high rates of acute malnutrition and cases of mortality if there is no rapid and significant scale up of humanitarian assistance.

It estimated two million children under five in the three states are likely to face wasting this year, insisting that: “This is the most immediate and life-threatening form of malnutrition. Some 700,000 children are at risk of severe acute malnutrition – meaning that they are 11 times more likely to die compared to well-nourished children. They need immediate action to survive.”

The UN claimed that: “The deepening food crisis and worrying malnutrition levels are the result of years of protracted conflict and insecurity which continue to prevent more than two million people from returning home. A combination of fuel and food inflation, a naira cash crisis earlier in the year, and climate shocks (such as the record floods in Nigeria in 2022) are among factors that have worsened the crisis.”

The Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, Mr. Matthias Schmale was quoted to have said: “I have seen firsthand the anguish of mothers fighting for the lives of their malnourished infants in our partner-run stabilization centres. This is a situation no one should have to face,” adding that: “I have spoken with children who described going for days without eating enough. Mothers who said their children go to bed crying from hunger. Families struggling to feed their families as they have gone for months without receiving food assistance.”

He lamented that this may become the unfortunate reality for millions of food-insecure people in the BAY states unless resources and funding are urgently mobilized, adding that if additional funding is not received, humanitarian partners will only reach about 300,000 of the 4.3 million at-risk people in need of food assistance during the peak of the lean season. As more people in urgent need of food aid go unassisted, there will be an increased risk of starvation and death.

With the current limited resources, nearly 3.4 million people will not be reached with agricultural livelihood support, including farming inputs such as fertilizers. This funding gap is critical for agricultural livelihoods sustaining over 80 per cent of the vulnerable people across the BAY states. A critical part of addressing the food crisis is to enable people to grow their own food.

The statement revealed that the World Food Programme (WFP) is scaling up its operations to assist 2.1 million people with emergency food and nutrition supplies, noting that the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and nutrition partners aim to provide life-saving nutrition services to over one million malnourished children, as well as pregnant and breastfeeding women with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) planning to reach two million people with seed packages to secure cereal production for the upcoming harvest.

“While we continue to work together to stave off catastrophe, the sheer scale of the food and nutrition crisis means that humanitarian assistance is critical right now,” said the Country Representative and Country Director of WFP in Nigeria, Mr. David Stevenson, was quoted to have said.

The Country Representative of UNICEF in Nigeria, Ms. Cristian Munduate, called for concerted efforts to protect children. She said: “We have the power to make a difference in the lives of these children. With your support, we can prevent more children from suffering from malnutrition and give them a chance at a healthy and happy future.”

The FAO representative to Nigeria, Mr. Fred Kafeero, warned that the upcoming lean season may worsen food insecurity among vulnerable households without access to agricultural livelihood options. He said: “FAO requires funding to reach two million people with urgent food and livelihood assistance in the form of critical production inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, and livelihood assets including small ruminants and poultry, and the corresponding skills to save lives, and protect and rebuild livelihoods.”

According to the statement, with the lean season coinciding with the rainy season, humanitarian partners are also concerned about outbreaks of diseases, such as acute watery diarrhoea, cholera and malaria, which will only aggravate the situation of malnourished children. Children suffering from malnutrition are at higher risk of dying from common infections.

The statement said the US$396 million in funding will enable humanitarian organisations to swiftly expand food and nutrition assistance, along with supplementary interventions such as clean water and sanitation, healthcare, protection and logistics in the BAY states.

And to kickstart the response to the food security and nutrition crisis in north-east Nigeria, the UN has released a combined $18 million. UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mr. Martin Griffiths, has allocated $9 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and Humanitarian Coordinator Schmale will be disbursing a further $9 million from the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund (NHF).

“These CERF and NHF funds, however, account for less than five per cent of what humanitarian organizations require to address the most urgent food and nutrition needs. Significant additional and early funding is urgently needed,” said Mr. Schmale. “As we have seen in previous years, early funding can help pull food insecure people back from the brink.”

UN Says US396 million Needed Urgently to Avert Catastrophic Humanitarian Crisis in Northeast

International

Rwanda Warns that Allowing Hatred, Disunity to Fester Could Lead to Genocide

Published

3 weeks ago

April 7, 2024

Ochuwa Ibrahim

Rwanda Warns that Allowing Hatred, Disunity to Fester Could Lead to Genocide

By: Michael Mike

Rwanda has warned of the dangers of allowing hatred and disunity to fester, insisting that this could lead to genocide like it witnessed over 30 years ago where a million people were killed in the spate of 100 days.

The Rwandan High Commissioner to Nigeria, Christophe Bazivamo, stated this at the 30th commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Abuja.

The commemoration is observed under the multi-year theme, “Remember – Unite – Renew”.

Bazivamo stated that the path to lasting peace demands constant vigilance, adding that “As we renew, we restate our unbreakable pledge to fight intolerance, discrimination, ethnic hatred, hate speeches, genocide revisionism, and denial in all their forms.

“Unfortunately, this is happening today just beyond Rwanda’s borders in the Great Lakes region. We should never allow the embers of hatred to reignite.”

The High Commissioner further said: stated: “On this Kwibuka 30, together, we can ensure that the memory of the victims becomes a powerful force for good, inspiring future generations to choose peace over hate, unity over division, and hope over despair.

“This can be achieved in different ways including putting course lessons about the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in schools and the establishment of memory symbols in remembrance of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi to educate the young and the next generation on the need to fight hate ideologies and stand against any form of discrimination and divisionism. Let us work together to build a world where such atrocities never happen again.”

In his remarks, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar conveyed the condolences of the Nigerian government to the survivors of the genocide.

Tuggar represented by a former ambassador to Sudan, Safiu Olaniyan said: “Genocide should not be allowed to raise its head ever again.”

The Secretary General, United Nations, Antonio Guterres urged the world to stand as one against all forms of hatred and discrimination.

Guterres whose speech was read at the occasion by the UN Resident Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohamed Malick Fall noted that: “To those who would seek to divide us, we must deliver a clear, unequivocal and urgent message: never again.

“We can draw a straight line between the senseless slaughter of one million Tutsi — as well as some Hutu and others who opposed the genocide — and the decades of hate speech that preceded it, enflamed by ethnic tensions and the long shadow of colonialism.

“Today, around the world, the darkest impulses of humanity are being awakened once more by the voices of extremism, division and hate.

“On this solemn day of remembrance, let’s pledge to stand as one against all forms of hatred and discrimination.

In his remarks, a retired Nigerian Navy admiral, Samuel Alade who witnessed the genocide while in Rwanda said, “I commend the tenacity of purpose and the commitment of the Rwandans to make their nation an example of relevance.”

Rwanda Warns that Allowing Hatred, Disunity to Fester Could Lead to Genocide

International

Earthquake: Emergency agency warns about aftershocks in New York

Published

3 weeks ago

April 5, 2024

Ochuwa Ibrahim

Earthquake: Emergency agency warns about aftershocks in New York

New York State Emergency Management has warned that residents might experience aftershocks of the 4.8 magnitude earthquake, which occurred in the city and New Jersey on Friday.

The North American correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the earthquake, which occurred at 10:23a.m. local time ,eight miles northwest of Bridgewater, New Jersey ,affected some areas in New York.

It rattled skyscrapers and buildings across Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.

The emergency agency, in a safety alert issued , urged the public to call 911 if they were experiencing an emergency.

“ An earthquake occurred in New Jersey. The earthquake has been felt throughout New York State. Aftershocks may occur. Call 9-1-1 only if you or others are injured or have an emergency’’

An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.8 is generally considered moderate, though it appears to be among the biggest earthquakes to ever affect New York City.

In addition to New York and New Jersey, the quake was felt in parts of Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts .

New York governor Kathy Hochul said that the impact of the earthquake was being assessed.

“My team is assessing impacts and any damage that may have occurred, and we will update the public throughout the day.” she wrote on X .

Earthquake: Emergency agency warns about aftershocks in New York

International

Gaza: US Failed Resolution at UN was Biased- Envoy

Published

4 weeks ago

March 31, 2024

Ochuwa Ibrahim

Gaza: US Failed Resolution at UN was Biased- Envoy

By: Michael Mike

The Palestinian Ambassador to Nigeria, Abdullah Shawesh has described as biased the failed United States resolution on Gaza.

Shawesh, who spoke to journalists at the weekend during his weekly briefing on the ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza, also alleged that Israel has violated Ramadan ceasefire agreement,

He said U.S was biased in its resolution as it failed to call for immediate ceasefire.

Shawesh said, “On Friday, March 22, the USA presented a resolution before the Security Council, which did not pass due to a veto. In this regard, and despite many other criticisms, I would like to highlight the following points:

“So all what you hear on the media about the ceasefire resolution is spout empty words. The US resolution fail to call for an immediate ceasefire that the secretary of state Blinken theorize for it on the media day before tabling it on the security council as the magic stack to put an end to the human suffering in Gaza.

“The US resolution fell short of condemning the ongoing Israeli massacre against the Palestinian people. Instead, it gave Israel the green light to continue its textbook genocide.

“The US resolution emprise and incubated all the Israeli claims about Oct 7 even before any independent fact finding mission or inquiry mission established by independent intergovernmental body to come with final report on what happened on that day.

“The US resolution mentioned the 132 Israeli hostages in Gaza but did not say a word about the more than 7,000 abducted and hostage Palestinians in Israeli concentration camps and prisons, all of whom are subjected to torture, degradation, and ill-treatment, resulting in the deaths of 12 of them so far.

“This is a clear form of racism and white supremacy, prioritizing the lives of Israelis over the lives of Palestinians.

“The US resolution deliberately did not mention any single words on the UN body, UNRWA, which is the most expert and capable body to tackle the humanitarian crises in Gaza, in clear complicity to support the Israeli occupation request to dismantle it. When it came to the humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian no one can deny the crucial role that the UNRWA played since Al-Nakba 1948.

“It is important to note that the US Congress voted not to resume funding for UNRWA until at least 2025, a move welcomed by Israel, which declared that the UN agency will not be part of Gaza’s future.

The US did not mention Israel as the occupation power except one time in the context of the two state solution.”

He also accused the Israeli authorities of not respecting UN resolution which called for ceasefire during the ongoing Ramadan.

He said, “On Monday, March 25, the Security Council adopted the Resolution 2728 calling for an immediate ceasefire during the month of Ramadan. While the ink on the resolution is not yet dry, Israeli cannon barrels are still firing and claiming more innocent Palestinian lives.

“On a practical level, this means Israel has turned its back on the Security Council. Israeli pushback on the UN ceasefire resolution, and the war minister Yoav Gallant said Israel has no moral right to stop the war in Gaza.

“The Israeli occupation authorities have continued their aggression, restrictions, and repressive measures in the occupied West Bank since the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan.

“They have deployed more than 24 military battalions there, imposed a comprehensive siege, cut off ties with partial sieges on all regions and towns, deployed over 750 checkpoints, installed more iron gates, and forced citizens to travel on bumpy roads that consume their time and money.”

He condemned the continue sales of weapons to Isreal, he said according Mary Lawlor – UN special rapporteur on human rights defenders: “There is no moral argument that justifies the continued sales of weapons to Israel. Over the past six months, Israel has unequivocally proven that it uses Western and foreign weapons indiscriminately against the Palestinian people. Why does the West continue to supply them?”

He also asked the everyone to pay attention to the UN Secretary General, António Guterres words that: “Palestinians in Gaza — children, women, men – remain stuck in a non-stop nightmare. Communities obliterated. Homes demolished. Entire families and generations wiped out. With hunger and starvation stalking the population. It is monstrous that after so much suffering over so many months, Palestinians in Gaza are marking Ramadan with Israeli bombs still falling, bullets still flying, artillery still pounding, and humanitarian assistance still facing obstacle upon obstacle.”

Shawesh said: “According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health as of Sunday, March 24, approximately 32,200 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli occupation forces. Among the victims, 72% were women (around 8,800) and children (approximately 13,750). Additionally, around 74,500 Palestinians have been injured, with a majority being women and children. It is estimated that more than 8,100 people are missing under the rubble.

Gaza: US Failed Resolution at UN was Biased- Envoy