Nigeria’s humanitarian crisis desperately requires a new and workable model of prevention and management.
The United Nations Resident Humanitarian Coordinator, Edward Kallom, stated this in Abuja at the inauguration of a humanitarian dialogue policy in partnership with the Nigerian Government.
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The policy is to address existing gaps in the country’s crisis management.
The protracted conflict in north-eastern Nigeria continues to devastate the lives of civilians, resulting in a humanitarian crisis affecting 7.7 million women, men, and children who are all in acute need of help and protection.
Since the start of the conflict in 2009, more than 20,000 people have been killed, over 4,000 others abducted, and 1.7 million remain displaced, most of them in Borno State that’s according to Unicef.
Those caught up in the conflict have experienced brutal violence, lost family, friends and homes, lived with acute and sustained levels of stress in poor conditions, seen their communities torn apart, and had little or no access to life-saving services such as health and education.
It is against this backdrop that the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development, Sadiya Umar-Farouk, is at the UN House to inaugurate the Humanitarian Dialogue Forum, to enhance the conduct of humanitarian crisis in Nigeria.
Kallon said the humanitarian situation in the northeast of Nigeria and other parts remain a challenge due to the insecurity that the UN will work closely with the Nigerian Government to address.
The Humanitarian Dialogue Policy Forum is expected to come up with an action plan to develop and enhance ways to handle disaster in the country.