Last weekend, non-state armed groups attacked civilians and aid facilities in Damasak, in the northeast of Nigeria. The hospital and the stabilisation center where children affected with severe acute malnutrition are treated, along with NGO offices and aid workers’ homes were targeted and destroyed.
Action Against Hunger denounces in the strongest terms this new wave of violence against humanitarian aid. In mid-March, the IPC acute malnutrition analysis was released for the northeast of Nigeria. The forecast is appalling. More than 1.1 million children under five are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition, and 605 000 from severe acute malnutrition, which can result in death if left untreated. According to WFP and FAO, the northeast of Nigeria is at risk of famine in 2021.
It is of the uttermost importance that safe access to humanitarian aid is guaranteed for the population. Action Against Hunger urges all parties involved in the conflict to respect and apply International Humanitarian Law to ensure that vulnerable populations find relief and NGOs can access people in need.