UN Releases $10.5m For Flood Response In Nigeria

■ Says Bayelsa essentially cut off from Nigeria

By The Evangelist
November 19, 2022

The United Nations has announced the release of $10.5 million US dollars (about N4.6 billion) for flood response in the country.

UN, in a statement on Friday, said the amount, which is from the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund (NHF) and the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), will be used to provide assistance to people affected and left vulnerable by floods across the country, including those already ravaged by insurgency in the North-East.

“A $5 million NHF allocation will provide much needed water, sanitation, health care, shelter and non-food items support to over 264,000 people in the states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) – covered by the Humanitarian Response Plan 2022,” it revealed.

It said the people of the three North-East states were reeling from the combined impact of floods, protracted conflict, rising hunger and a cholera outbreak.

“The NHF funds will complement a $5.5 million CERF rapid response allocation for the states most affected by flooding in Nigeria that will help provide clean water, sanitation, hygiene, emergency shelter and health care assistance for 495,000 people in Anambra, Bayelsa, Kogi, and Niger states,” the UN disclosed.

Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, Mr Matthias Schmale, said he met and spoke with people who are struggling to put food on the table and to get clean water during his visits to Anambra, Adamawa and Bayelsa states, badly affected by flooding.

“What I saw in Bayelsa, which was essentially cut off from the rest of the country, with homes and fields underwater and some people still sleeping on boats, reminded me of the images coming out of Pakistan several weeks ago,” he said.

About 33 of the 36 states in the country were affected by flooding this year, according to the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.

The UN said more than 19.5 million people in the country are facing severe food insecurity before the floods, quoting the 2022 Cadre Harmonisé food security and nutrition assessment.