Nigeria's North-East on the Verge of Famine, UN Warns

Millions are facing hunger and children's lives are on the line in northeastern Nigeria amid a protracted conflict and intensifying climate change, the United Nations (UN) reports. The UN has warned of an increasingly dire humanitarian situation in the region, warning that approximately 6 million people there are in need of assistance.

Matthias Schmale, the UN humanitarian coordinator said that severe hunger is affecting 4.3 million people in Nigeria's Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states. The number of children under five at risk of life-threatening severe acute malnutrition has doubled in one year to reach 700,000.

"We must act fast to prevent the situation in the northeast of Nigeria from becoming even more catastrophic," he said.

The crisis is primarily caused by over a decade of insecurity linked to non-state armed groups, which hampers farming and income generation for the local population. Climate change and extreme weather events, such as last year's severe floods affecting over 4.4 million people across Nigeria, including the north-east, have also played a detrimental role. More than 40,000 people have been killed and two million more displaced in fighting between the army and militants groups, including Boko Haram, over the last 14 years.