WFP, Borno Government Provide Hot Meals to Displaced Persons

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has set up in Borno State, providing emergency food assistance to communities affected by massive flooding that has displaced over 230,000 people in the northeast Nigeria state.

A statement yesterday said WFP was working to provide hot meals to 50,000 of the worst affected children, women, and men who have lost their homes in what had been described as the worst flooding in northeast Nigeria in 30 years.

WFP’s Country Director and Representative, David Stevenson said, “Maiduguri is facing a crisis within a crisis, with conflict, record food price inflation and now floods displacing hundreds of thousands of people, most of whom were already cut off from their farms.”

According to the statement, WFP has established food kitchens in three camps – Teachers’ Village, Asheikh, and Yerwa – to provide meals to flood-hit people over the next two weeks.

The kitchens provide nutritious cooked rice and beans to affected families. Specialised nutritious foods are also being provided to children, pregnant women and nursing mothers to cover their nutritional needs.

However, additional assistance would be critical to restore stability and support recovery.

The statement said WFP swiftly dispatched UN humanitarian air service (UNHAS) helicopters to conduct an interagency aerial assessment of damage in Maiduguri and its surroundings.

The rapid assessment showed that the immediate needs of the affected people include food, shelter, and clean water.