Kids starving in Boko Haram enclave

VIOLENCE by militant g roup Boko Haram, in Africa’s Lake Chad basin, has left millions of children displaced or trapped in areas where it is hard for aid and help to reach them.

The UN Children’s Fund (Unicef) said in a report released yesterday that in Africa’s Lake Chad basin, which includes Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger, 1.4 million children were displaced and another 1 million were trapped in hard- to- reach- areas. Boko Haram has been causing mayhem in Africa over the past couple of years as it attacks gover nment compounds.

“The Lake Chad crisis is a children’s crisis that should rank high on the global migration and displacement agenda,” said Manuel Fontaine, Unicef regional director for West and Central Africa.

Released ahead of the UN Summit on Refugees and Migrants on September 19, a report, “Children on the Move, Children Left Behind”, looks at the impact of the Boko Haram insurgency on children in the Lake Chad basin countries and its devastating toll on children.

It notes that, in addition to the 2.6 million people displaced, 2.2 million people – over half children – are feared trapped in areas under Boko Haram’s control and in need of humanitarian assistance.

The report noted that an estimated 38 children were used to carry out suicide attacks in the Lake Chad basin region so far this year, bringing to 86 the number of children used as suicide bombers since 2014.

It found that an estimated 475 000 children across the basin region would suffer from acute malnutrition this year, up from 175 000 at the beginning of the year, and in north-east Nigeria alone an estimated 20 000 children have been separated from their families.

Most of the displaced population – more than 80 percent – are staying with families and neighbours, putting additional strain on some of the world’s poorest communities.

“Local communities are sharing the little they have to help those in need in an act of humanity that is replicated in thousands of homes across the conflict-affect areas,” said Fontaine.

Unicef is working with partners to meet the basic needs of children and their families in the conflict-affected areas. So far this year, nearly 170 000 children received psychosocial support, while almost 100 000 kids were treated for severe acute malnutrition. – ANA