UN official urges international aid for northeast Nigeria

A senior UN official on Wednesday urged member-nations for international assistance describing the humanitarian condition in northeast Nigeria as terrible.

Toby Lanzer, the UN assistant secretary-general and the regional humanitarian coordinator for the Sahel, recently visited the devastated towns of Konduga and Bama, Borno, where more than 300 people were killed and a million displaced by the six-year Boko Haram militancy.

"The humanitarian consequences here are great, the humanitarian situation here is terrible, one of the worst in the world," Lanzer said.

The World Bank and the national emergency agency recently released a report which put the number of displaced persons in the northeast region at 2.5 million with children and women being the most affected.

"Thousands of school-age children have been out of school for almost six years now," said Lanzer.

He added that the UN has earmarked $200 million of support to the Nigerian northeast region, urging other nations to also give support to prevent the humanitarian crisis from getting worse.

"This is second time that I have visited this part of the world in eight months. I think it is a testimony that indeed the UN shows concern about Borno and the northeast region," he said.

The Borno state government has started rebuilding over 60 communities destroyed by the fighting but state governor, Kashim Shettima, has urged for more assistance saying the issues of medical facilities, sanitation, and rebuilding infrastructure are still not getting the aid and attention they need.