The United Nations is seeking $910 million in aid to address the humanitarian crisis in northeastern Nigeria, a region affected by an Islamist insurgency since 2009 and severe flooding last year. The appeal, set to be launched this week, targets 7.8 million people in need of assistance in the states of Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe, with plans to provide help to 3.6 million of them.
This crisis has become the most expensive humanitarian emergency in West and Central Africa, surpassing the needs in Chad, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. Nigeria is also grappling with a worsening cost-of-living crisis, marked by soaring inflation and food prices.
The UN has expressed concern that the northeast may become a forgotten crisis as attention shifts to other global emergencies. A joint report from the Nigerian government and the UN released in November revealed that more than 30 million people in Nigeria are expected to face food insecurity this year.
