Nigeria famine talks held in Oslo

Agencies describe a food situation that is desperate

OSLO // United Nations aid agencies and donor countries gathered in Oslo yesterday for a two-day meeting to raise emergency aid for millions of people threatened by famine in north-east Nigeria, a Boko Haram stronghold. The UN aims to raise up to € 1.4 billion ( Dh5.4bn) in commitments this year for the Lake Chad region, which comprises north- east Nigeria, northern Cameroon, western Chad and south-east Niger.

One of the poorest regions in the world, it has been ravaged by eight years of violence. Schools, dispensaries and agriculture are in ruins, and people have been forced to flee extremists on foot without any resources.

Across north- east Nigeria, about 5.1 million people face severe food shortages and about 500,000 children are suffering from acute malnutrition, even as the military makes gains against the group.

Norwegian foreign minister Borge Brende, meeting with non-governmental organisations yesterday, called it “one of the more forgotten conflicts” in the world.

“The displacement crisis in north-eastern Nigeria and the Lake Chad region has become a very serious food and nutrition emergency,” Mr Brende said.

“More than 10 million people are in need of assistance. Some parts of north-eastern Nigeria may already experience famine.”

The medical situation has been described by Medecins Sans Frontieres as the worst in the world.

Humanitarian organisations can access populations at risk only as the army progresses and ambushes are a constant threat.

Other places are accessible only by helicopter, where, MSF said, “horrible rates of malnutrition” are observed among children.

“In the whole of the Lake Chad region we’ve seen the fight against Boko Haram take priority above all else, with military and political objectives directed towards this,” said Natalie Roberts, head of emergencies for MSF in Borno state.

“We now find ourselves in the midst of a huge humanitarian crisis,” she said.

The UN humanitarian coordinator for the Sahel region, Toby Lanzer, called for a response to “one of the most deadly extremist groups”, referring to Boko Haram.

The inhabitants are surviving with barely one meal a day, he said.

“And we know that with the impending rainy season, disease will increase, malaria will become more prevalent, and shelter will be more needed,” Mr Lanzer said.

Ahmed Shehu, a civil society representative in north-east Nigeria, spoke about the need for long-term development.

“I say to donors here, if we want to tackle the Boko Haram issue, let’s also reflect on the underlying issue: poverty,” he said.

“The second issue we fail to link with Boko Haram is climate change,” he said, noting that 90 per cent of Lake Chad has dried up in only a few decades.

“A majority [ farmers and fishermen] have lost their livelihoods.”

Among those attending the Oslo conference are government ministers from Germany, Norway, Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon, as well as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, and the head of the World Food Programme, Ertharin Cousin.