The United Nations is seeking to establish a 396.1Million Dollar fund to address the challenge of food and nutrition crisis in the Northeast.
The UN body made this appeal at a lean season food security and nutrition crisis multisector plan meeting in Abuja where it stressed that the fund is urgently needed and a top priority.
The Food security challenges in Nigeria have reached crisis levels in the Northeast region particularly in the lean seasons
The UN believes there is need for concerted efforts by all, especially donors in prioritising the challenges of the vulnerable in the region
This is particularly worrisome as children are the first victims of this food crisis.
Data from the UN shows that 4.3 Million people are at risk of severe hunger, 20 million children are under the threat of acute malnutrition, but the target for this lean season is 2.8Million.
In the meeting are Ambassadors and Heads of Missions who are representatives of donor countries and agencies
They have been alerted about the severity of malnutrition in the Northeast particularly through a report by TVC News on the issue.
In all this, the UN says government needs to take the lead in tackling the issue even as it appeals to international community to prevent these issues from blowing into a full scale emergency.
It is important to note that food security is a fundamental human right.
