The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Nigeria: crisis in north-east will get worse without urgent help, says OCHA
UN humanitarians issued an alert on Tuesday on the deteriorating situation for millions of mainly women and children in north-east Nigeria who continue to be affected by protracted armed conflict, just as the country enters the lean season.
Well over eight million people are in need of assistance in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) states and an estimated 600,000 face emergency levels of food insecurity because of extremist violence centred around the Lake Chad region, that’s now in its 12th year.
Although previously dominant Boko Haram militia have been significantly weakened since the group’s leader was killed over a year ago, it continues to carry out indiscriminate attacks, said the UN’s top relief official in Nigeria, Matthias Schmale. Another extremist offshoot, ISWAP, is also dangerous, although it had also suffered setbacks, he noted.
As in previous years, a staggering one million people are also beyond the reach of international aid teams, said Mr. Schmale, who is the acting UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria. More than 80 per cent of those in need are women and children, who also face “abductions, rape and abuse”, while indiscriminate attacks in Borno state make it the most “unstable place to be”, he added.
“We’ve been asking to support out of the 8.4 million people in need of support at least 5.5 million,” Mr. Schmale told journalists in Geneva. “The conflict has left 2.2 million people presently displaced…We’ve just entered what is called the lean season that normally lasts ‘til September; last year it lasted ‘til November, so we’re also seeing the impact of climate change.”
Mr. Schmale noted that although Nigeria is a major oil producer, it lacks refineries which means that it has not benefited from the global surge in energy prices, linked to war in Ukraine.
“It’s early days yet in terms of understanding the full impact, as you may know, in Nigeria from the beginning there was speculation as to whether Nigeria would benefit as an oil-producing country. We’re not seeing that in fact at all, because Nigeria, as contradictory as this may sound, depends very largely on imports of refined oil so, the price rises we’ve seen are not benefiting Nigeria, that’s one concern.”
In time, the massive country could feed itself and avoid ever costlier food imports, the UN official insisted, although for the moment, it lacks the infrastructure and agricultural investment required to be competitive at a global level.
Of particular concern are the 1.74 million children under five who are expected to be suffer from acute malnutrition in the north-east in coming months.
“A key message is ringing the alarm bell,” Mr. Schmale said. “If we don’t get immediate funding soon for an initial multisector response plan worth $350 million, we will have a crisis that will be much worse in a couple of months.”
He added: “We hope that the international community realises that you ignore a situation like in the north-east of Nigeria at your own peril; it could have far-reaching consequences beyond the borders of Nigeria if we’re not able to keep it stable.”
ends
STORY: Nigeria Humanitarian Emergency - OCHA
TRT: 2 mins 15s
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 21 June 2022 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior wide shot, flag alley, UN Geneva.
- Medium shot, UN Geneva Press room.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Matthias Schmale, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “A key message is ringing the alarm bell. And what I mean by that is if we don’t get immediate funding soon for an initial multisector response plan worth $350 million, we will have a crisis that will be much worse in a couple of months.”
- Medium shot, participant, seated, in front of large TV screen showing Mr. Schmale.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Matthias Schmale, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “There are 600,000 people projected to be at emergency risk level in terms of food insecurity.”
- Medium shot, podium speakers, journalists.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Matthias Schmale, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “Now this is all happening in the context of a protracted crisis caused by a non-international armed conflict as many of you will know across the three states in the north-east in Nigeria: Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.”
- Medium shot, journalists writing on notepad or laptop in foreground, participant to rear.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Matthias Schmale, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “We’ve been asking to support out of the 8.4 million people in need of support at least 5.5 million. The conflict has left 2.2 million people presently displaced.”
- Medium shot, participant in foreground, podium speakers to rear.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Matthias Schmale, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “We’ve just entered what is called the lean season that normally lasts ‘til September; last year it lasted ‘til November, so we’re also seeing the impact of climate change.”
- Medium shot, journalist in foreground, podium speakers to rear.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Matthias Schmale, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “It’s early days yet in terms of understanding the full impact, as you may know, in Nigeria from the beginning there was speculation as to whether Nigeria would benefit as an oil-producing country. We’re not seeing that in fact at all, because Nigeria, as contradictory as this may sound, depends very largely on imports of refined oil so, the price rises we’ve seen are not benefiting Nigeria, that’s one concern.”
- Wide shot, journalists, TV camera on tripod, lighting panel on stand.
- Close-up, podium speakers seated in front of UN Geneva backdrop.
- Medium shot, journalists, UN staff.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Seif Magango today told the bi-weekly UN press briefing in Geneva of more details that are emerging on the atrocities committed in El Fasher, in Sudan during and after its takeover by the Rapid Support Forces.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Seif Magango made the following comment on Friday at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani made the following comment on Friday at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , WHO
Sudan: UN Raises Alarm Over Mass Atrocities in El Fasher as Survivors Report Executions, Killings and Rapes
More details continue to emerge about atrocities committed during and after the fall of El Fasher to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan on 23 October. Since the powerful paramilitary group made a major incursion into the city last week, the UN Human Rights Office has received “horrendous accounts of summary executions, mass killings, rapes, attacks against humanitarian workers, looting, abductions and forced displacement,” said Seif Magango, spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IFRC , OHCHR , UNDP , WFP , WHO
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the World Health Organization, the World Food Programme, the United Nations Development Programme, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA
Ukraine: Russian attacks on energy terrorize population as winter starts; could trigger major ‘crisis within crisis’
The UN’s top aid official in Ukraine expressed concern on Friday about “continuous attacks” on energy production sites and distribution facilities.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OCHA
The humanitarian situation In Ukraine: winter response, the energy crisis and next steps
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The telecommunications shutdowns in Afghanistan in September had serious and far-reaching impacts on people’s lives, according to a briefing paper published today by the UN Human Rights Office and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Jeremy Laurence at the UN Geneva press briefing made the following comment on the ASEAN declaration on the right to a healthy environment.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IFRC , OCHA , OHCHR , UNCTAD , UNHCR , UNOG , WHO , WMO
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the World Meteorological Organization, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Health Organization, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
1
1
1
Edited News | IFRC , OCHA , WMO
‘Catastrophic’ Hurricane Melissa hours from landfall in Jamaica as humanitarians rush to save lives
Millions in Jamaica and across the Caribbean are bracing for massive impact from Hurricane Melissa on Tuesday as the UN and partners are warning of a “severe” and “immediate” humanitarian threat.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNEP
UNEP Press conference: Minamata Convention on Mercury COP6