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Donor countries who met in Oslo raised $869 million in emergency aid to address humanitarian woes caused by Boko Haram terrorists in the North East and the Lake Chad Basin.The United Nations (UN) said the eight-year conflict between the Nigerian Army and Boko Haram has devastated the region.The amount was pledged over three years and is aimed at helping 10.7 million people in need.The UN had previously said it hoped to raise $1.5 billion in 2017, for the region, which includes Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad.Norwegian Ambassador to Nigeria, Jens-petter Kjemprud said in Abuja, yesterday, that the conference was hosted by Norway, in conjunction with Nigeria and Germany, to aid operations in the region.According to him, the humanitarian crisis in the North East made the Federal Government approach the international community to ask for assistance.“Your own government and the Norwegian government brought the initiative of the humanitarian conference.
It was basically for Nigeria because the bulk of the conflicts was from the North East, in Borno. “So, we arranged this conference with the UN and the outcome, so far, from the appeal made by the UN, to the global community, is encouraging,” he said.According to the envoy, more than 86 per cent of the appeals have been honoured.“This is an ongoing process, the Nigerian government, in cooperation with the UN is preparing the appeal for 2018. Norway has committed itself to the support of the 2018 appeal and for the continued humanitarian assistance to the northeast,” he said.
The Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, had told the News Agency of Nigeria that the fund was to assist Lake Chad basin countries to bear the brunt of the Boko Haram crisis.“UN is disbursing a lot of the fund, and a lot of it is going into relief and food materials for the Lake Chad region countries.”The minister commended the UN for the role it played in organising the donor conference.“We appreciate, very much, the role the UN has been playing, to assist us to address serious humanitarian challenges we are facing in the North East of the country,” he said.In February 2017, UN said it planned to raise $1.5 billion to address the needs of about 6.9 million people affected by Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria.
The plan is within the framework of an 18-month deadline the global body has set to ensure that the people displaced by the insurgency in the North East are re-integrated into their communities.The UN Resident Coordinator, Edward Kallon, who disclosed this at a parley with newsmen, in Abuja, said over 450,000 children would suffer from severe acute malnutrition in Borno State alone, if the Internally Displaced Persons were not resettled within the set target.Kallon described the crisis as the fourth largest in the world and that the challenges confronting Nigeria are enormous. He listed them to include security, governance and economy.
He said insurgency in North East poses a threat to the region’s economic and long-term development.“The challenges are enormous and solvable. As UN body, we are providing support to the Federal and state governments on the crisis.“Seventy-six per cent of the survivors of Boko Haram attacks presently live in Borno.” To provide a lasting solution, he called for the adoption of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in tackling the situation.”
