US has announced additional $500 million in humanitarian assistance to support the people affected by the activities of Boko Haram insurgents in Nigeria and neighbouring countries.
The other countries are Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
Mr. Nathan Holt, the Deputy Director, Office of West African Affairs, Bureau of African Affairs at the US Department of State, made this known via teleconference on: ‘Nigeria, a critical US partner’, in Washington, D.C on Wednesday.
The amount is different from the additional $30 million released on April 28, by the US Government through the World Food Programme.
Holt, noted that the US Government had also provided other forms of assistance to the Federal Government to combat Boko Haram.
He said “I’d like to point out that United States has worked closely with Nigeria.
“We provide a range of assistance to Nigerian authorities in their efforts to combat Boko Haram and ISIS West Africa.
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“That includes intelligence sharing, training, advice on strategic communications, and various services to support victims of Boko Haram.
“And as I said, we’ve provided close to 500 million dollars in humanitarian assistance over the last two years.”
He noted the humanitarian situation in northeastern Nigeria and its neighbouring countries in the Lake Chad Basin, as a consequence of the Boko Haram and ISIS West Africa insurgency.
We are a leading donor of humanitarian assistance there, as the countries involved struggle to deal with a food crisis, he said.
Holt explained that the US was working very hard with the UN to further alleviate the sufferings of the Boko Haram victims.
“So the United Nations has pointed out that there are more people facing famine-like conditions in northeastern Nigeria and in neighbouring regions.
“We’re working as hard as we can and as fast as we can to deliver food assistance and other support to those people.”
He also pointed out that the U.S. recently released 30 million dollars to support the people of northeast Nigeria had expanded food rations to the Boko Haram victims.
“I think I would add that just on April 28th the United States announced an additional 30 million dollars to support the people of northeast Nigeria through contributions to the World Food Programme.
“The World Food Programme, I would add, has expanded the numbers of people it is feeding by tenfold over the last two to three months.
“So the numbers have gone from roughly 200,000 to close to two million.
“The World Food Program needs additional assistance; we’re working with other donors and partners to get that assistance to them.
“It’s a collective effort, and none of it’s going to get fixed until the insurgency is defeated and the spectre of terrorist violence is eliminated from that area,” Holt said.
