Latest news with #northeastNigeria
Zawya
a day ago
- Health
- Zawya
Emergency food assistance grinds to a halt in Nigeria amid surging insecurity and record hunger
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) will be forced to suspend all emergency food and nutrition aid for 1.3 million people in northeast Nigeria at the end of July. This is due to critical funding shortfalls which come at a time of escalating violence and record levels of hunger. WFP's food and nutrition stocks have been completely exhausted. The organization's last supplies left warehouses in early July and life-saving assistance will end after the current round of distributions is completed. Without immediate funding, millions of vulnerable people will face impossible choices: endure increasingly severe hunger, migrate, or possibly risk exploitation by extremist groups in the region. 'Nearly 31 million people in Nigeria are now facing acute hunger, a record number,' said David Stevenson, WFP Country Director for Nigeria. 'At the same time, WFP's operations in northeast Nigeria will collapse without immediate, sustained funding. This is no longer just a humanitarian crisis, it's a growing threat to regional stability, as families pushed beyond their limits are left with nowhere to turn.' Children will be among the worst affected if vital aid ends. More than 150 WFP-supported nutrition clinics in Borno and Yobe states will close, ending potentially life-saving treatment for more than 300,000 children under two and placing them at increased risk of wasting. In conflict-affected northern areas, escalating violence from extremist groups is driving mass displacement. Some 2.3 million people across the Lake Chad Basin have been forced to flee their homes, straining already limited resources and pushing communities to the brink. 'When emergency assistance ends, many will migrate in search of food and shelter. Others will adopt negative coping mechanisms – including potentially joining insurgent groups – to survive,' added Stevenson. 'Food assistance can often prevent these outcomes. It allows us to feed families, help rebuild economies and support long-term recovery.' In the first half of 2025, WFP has been able to hold hunger at bay across northern Nigeria, reaching 1.3 million people with life-saving food and nutrition assistance. Support for an additional 720,000 people was planned for the second half of the year before funding shortfalls put life-saving programmes in jeopardy. WFP has the capacity and expertise to deliver and scale-up its humanitarian response, but the critical funding gap is paralyzing operations. WFP urgently requires US$130 million to prevent an imminent pipeline break and sustain food and nutrition operations through the end of 2025. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Food Programme (WFP).
Independent Singapore
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Independent Singapore
No food, no future: Nigerian children pay the price for US aid suspensions
INTERNATIONAL: In a storeroom in northeast Nigeria, provisions of helpful sustenance provided to undernourished, famished children and pregnant women are rapidly diminishing. According to a recent CNN report, the nonprofit Action Against Hunger (ACF) has been wrestling with interrupted operations after losing access to fixed subsidies from the US Agency for International Development (USAID). The effect has been predominantly severe during Nigeria's peak malnutrition period, from June to September, when the need for nutrient-rich food is at its highest. The abrupt loss of USAID funding is just one illustration of the broader consequences of the Trump government's rollback of US foreign assistance initiatives. In several countries, vital charitable endeavours have been delayed or totally stuck, leaving defenceless populations in jeopardy. Project PRO: Laid-off USAID veterans mobilise Resolute in filling up the funding gap, a group of ex-USAID staff members has launched Project Resource Optimization (PRO)—an undertaking intended to connect big benefactors and foundations with assessed, noteworthy, and disruptive assistance and relief projects. Headed by former USAID portfolio manager Robert Rosenbaum, PRO was conceptualised from restless nights and the resolve to keep life-saving work from disintegrating. See also EU chiefs sign Brexit deal ahead of parliamentary vote 'There really are people who are dying as a result of these (budget) decisions,' Rosenbaum said. However, they realized they had the expertise to help. The team started curating a roster of crucial endeavours left marooned by USAID slashes and then formed a matchmaking system to connect them with patrons in search of effective ways to give. What began as a tiny worksheet replying to questions from some generous families grew fast. The team now enables connections between contributors and undertakings in nations such as Haiti, Nigeria, Mali, and Sudan. They also recently activated a Rapid Response Fund, permitting smaller contributors to donate once a month or give one-time gifts online. Lives are at stake, but hope emerges The effort of PRO has brought positive outcomes. The organization ALIMA (Alliance for International Medical Action) in Mali was about to shut down a project providing care for underfed children and expatriate individuals. 'We were forced to suspend activities and reduce activities at different points,' said Carlota Ruiz, ALIMA's head of grant management, but because of a PRO-referred donor, ALIMA was able to obtain funding to carry out more than 70,000 medical sessions and was able to treat 5,000 children with severe undernourishment. In Nigeria, ACF is on the edge of getting vital backing that will permit one malnutrition venture to continue operating, just in time. This was a make-or-break period for them, according to an ACF staff member who requested anonymity. 'So having these supplies in a situation where the (other) funding mechanisms are stalled… will make a big difference in terms of continuity of lifesaving activities.' Still, the financing only covers one section of a bigger conundrum. ACF runs additional programmes offering hygienic water, public health, and food aid all over northern Nigeria, many of which remain vulnerable. As Rosenbaum cautions, the price of resuming deferred operations is massive. 'The staff has already been hired, they're trained, they're in place… but the flip side is that the cost of shutting them down is extraordinarily high.' Time is running out for countless frontline initiatives, PRO's work is both pressing yet optimistic—an effort by those once muzzled to guarantee indispensable humanitarian support is not cut for good.
CNN
22-06-2025
- Health
- CNN
These former USAID staff are working to match donors to urgent, lifesaving aid projects that had their funding slashed
In a warehouse in northeast Nigeria, a nonprofit's stocks of food to treat malnourished children and pregnant women are running low. The organization, Action Against Hunger (ACF), is running a project to combat malnutrition that had been relying on funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to procure much-needed therapeutic food sachets. But the project was intermittently suspended, leaving ACF unable to procure enough of the nutrient-rich food during the peak season of malnutrition. It's one of the many urgent, lifesaving aid projects left in limbo and in need of additional resources following the Trump administration's dismantling of USAID. But now, a group of former USAID staff has come together to connect big donors with cost-effective projects like this, which desperately need cash to carry out operations already in the pipeline. The primary goal is 'to save as many lives as possible,' said Robert Rosenbaum, a former USAID portfolio manager and one of the people spearheading the initiative, which they are calling Project Resource Optimization (PRO). 'At this point, there really are people who are dying as a result of these (budget) decisions and this halting of the work.' Rosenbaum said that thinking about cuts to American programs tackling things like malnutrition, extreme poverty and disease prevention was keeping him up at night after he lost his job earlier this year. So, he and other laid-off USAID workers decided to do something. They began vetting projects being carried out by USAID partner organizations, which had abruptly lost their funding earlier this year. They gradually built a spreadsheet – dubbed the Urgent & Vetted Projects list – and started matchmaking, setting up meetings between the most critical and cost-effective programs and donors who wanted to help, but didn't know where to start. The spreadsheet was first inspired by reach-outs from a few small family foundations seeking expert guidance on where to best put their dollars, amid the initial uncertainty surrounding US government aid cuts. But it quickly grew into something bigger. It became clear to Rosenbaum that there was an opportunity to 'expand the overall pool of private philanthropy' and bring in donations from people who might not have considered giving to international aid projects until this year. 'There have been a handful of folks who have come out of the woodwork and literally written us an email that's like, 'I set aside $100,000, $200,000, a million dollars… And this is exactly how I want to think about giving… So, help us figure out how to do this,'' he said. Earlier this week, the PRO team also launched a tool for smaller donors to contribute online, crowdfunding for some of the most critical aid projects. Now, anyone can give a one-time or monthly contribution to the team's 'Rapid Response Fund' to support vetted projects in Sudan, Haiti, Nigeria and more. 'For most of the humanitarian projects that we've talked to… sometime this summer, if the funding doesn't come through, the lights will go off and it will be very hard to stand back up,' Rosenbaum said. 'Part of what we're offering for funders is that the fixed cost of standing these projects up has already been taken on by the US government. The staff has already been hired, they're trained, they're in place. The commodities, in many cases, have been procured and are sitting in a warehouse,' Rosenbaum said. 'There's all these efficiencies. 'But the flip side is that the cost of shutting them down is extraordinarily high,' he added, noting that typically it takes years for local organizations to build trust with authorities, leaders and communities. In Mali, an organization called the Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA) was at risk of shutting down a project that delivers medical care to children under five, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers, as well as providing mobile health clinics to internally displaced people. 'We were forced to suspend activities and reduce activities at different points,' said Carlota Ruiz, the organization's head of grant management, adding that more than half ALIMA's operating budget in Mali had come from USAID. 'One of our main concerns in terms of navigating suspensions or project closures was the risk to our credibility and our relationships with the Ministry of Health and the communities that we work with.' Weeks ago, the organization was facing the prospect of shutting down vital services, but now a new grant will allow ALIMA to provide 70,000 medical consultations to people in need and treat more than 5,000 children with severe acute malnutrition. 'We had a foundation reach out to us, saying that they were interested in funding our project in Mali, and that they had based this decision in large part on the analysis that the PRO had done,' Ruiz told CNN. 'That was just a huge relief and a breath of fresh air for all of us.' Meanwhile, in Nigeria, ACF says it is close to securing funding to keep one of its malnutrition projects going, after coordinating with the PRO team. The funding will go towards procuring more ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF). The timing was 'extremely critical,' according to an ACF staff member on the ground. 'June, July, and August, including part (of) September, are the highest months in Nigeria in terms of malnutrition and food insecurity,' the staff member, who asked not to be named, told CNN. 'So having these supplies in a situation where the (other) funding mechanisms are stalled… will make a big difference in terms of continuity of lifesaving activities.' But the funding will only go towards that one project. ACF also supports programs in northern Nigeria that provide food assistance, clean water and sanitation, and support hundreds of health clinics. 'It will be very meaningful, and it will be really very useful to ensure continuity of activity and save the lives of thousands of children,' the ACF worker said of the grant about to be finalized. 'But this project cannot address all the other aspects of our work.'
CNN
22-06-2025
- Health
- CNN
These former USAID staff are working to match donors to urgent, lifesaving aid projects that had their funding slashed
In a warehouse in northeast Nigeria, a nonprofit's stocks of food to treat malnourished children and pregnant women are running low. The organization, Action Against Hunger (ACF), is running a project to combat malnutrition that had been relying on funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to procure much-needed therapeutic food sachets. But the project was intermittently suspended, leaving ACF unable to procure enough of the nutrient-rich food during the peak season of malnutrition. It's one of the many urgent, lifesaving aid projects left in limbo and in need of additional resources following the Trump administration's dismantling of USAID. But now, a group of former USAID staff has come together to connect big donors with cost-effective projects like this, which desperately need cash to carry out operations already in the pipeline. The primary goal is 'to save as many lives as possible,' said Robert Rosenbaum, a former USAID portfolio manager and one of the people spearheading the initiative, which they are calling Project Resource Optimization (PRO). 'At this point, there really are people who are dying as a result of these (budget) decisions and this halting of the work.' Rosenbaum said that thinking about cuts to American programs tackling things like malnutrition, extreme poverty and disease prevention was keeping him up at night after he lost his job earlier this year. So, he and other laid-off USAID workers decided to do something. They began vetting projects being carried out by USAID partner organizations, which had abruptly lost their funding earlier this year. They gradually built a spreadsheet – dubbed the Urgent & Vetted Projects list – and started matchmaking, setting up meetings between the most critical and cost-effective programs and donors who wanted to help, but didn't know where to start. The spreadsheet was first inspired by reach-outs from a few small family foundations seeking expert guidance on where to best put their dollars, amid the initial uncertainty surrounding US government aid cuts. But it quickly grew into something bigger. It became clear to Rosenbaum that there was an opportunity to 'expand the overall pool of private philanthropy' and bring in donations from people who might not have considered giving to international aid projects until this year. 'There have been a handful of folks who have come out of the woodwork and literally written us an email that's like, 'I set aside $100,000, $200,000, a million dollars… And this is exactly how I want to think about giving… So, help us figure out how to do this,'' he said. Earlier this week, the PRO team also launched a tool for smaller donors to contribute online, crowdfunding for some of the most critical aid projects. Now, anyone can give a one-time or monthly contribution to the team's 'Rapid Response Fund' to support vetted projects in Sudan, Haiti, Nigeria and more. 'For most of the humanitarian projects that we've talked to… sometime this summer, if the funding doesn't come through, the lights will go off and it will be very hard to stand back up,' Rosenbaum said. 'Part of what we're offering for funders is that the fixed cost of standing these projects up has already been taken on by the US government. The staff has already been hired, they're trained, they're in place. The commodities, in many cases, have been procured and are sitting in a warehouse,' Rosenbaum said. 'There's all these efficiencies. 'But the flip side is that the cost of shutting them down is extraordinarily high,' he added, noting that typically it takes years for local organizations to build trust with authorities, leaders and communities. In Mali, an organization called the Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA) was at risk of shutting down a project that delivers medical care to children under five, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers, as well as providing mobile health clinics to internally displaced people. 'We were forced to suspend activities and reduce activities at different points,' said Carlota Ruiz, the organization's head of grant management, adding that more than half ALIMA's operating budget in Mali had come from USAID. 'One of our main concerns in terms of navigating suspensions or project closures was the risk to our credibility and our relationships with the Ministry of Health and the communities that we work with.' Weeks ago, the organization was facing the prospect of shutting down vital services, but now a new grant will allow ALIMA to provide 70,000 medical consultations to people in need and treat more than 5,000 children with severe acute malnutrition. 'We had a foundation reach out to us, saying that they were interested in funding our project in Mali, and that they had based this decision in large part on the analysis that the PRO had done,' Ruiz told CNN. 'That was just a huge relief and a breath of fresh air for all of us.' Meanwhile, in Nigeria, ACF says it is close to securing funding to keep one of its malnutrition projects going, after coordinating with the PRO team. The funding will go towards procuring more ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF). The timing was 'extremely critical,' according to an ACF staff member on the ground. 'June, July, and August, including part (of) September, are the highest months in Nigeria in terms of malnutrition and food insecurity,' the staff member, who asked not to be named, told CNN. 'So having these supplies in a situation where the (other) funding mechanisms are stalled… will make a big difference in terms of continuity of lifesaving activities.' But the funding will only go towards that one project. ACF also supports programs in northern Nigeria that provide food assistance, clean water and sanitation, and support hundreds of health clinics. 'It will be very meaningful, and it will be really very useful to ensure continuity of activity and save the lives of thousands of children,' the ACF worker said of the grant about to be finalized. 'But this project cannot address all the other aspects of our work.'
Associated Press
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Suicide bomber kills at least 10 in a restaurant in northeast Nigeria
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A suicide bomber in Nigeria's northeast state of Borno killed at least 10 people and injured several others in an explosion in a restaurant, police said Saturday. The blast occurred in the Konduga area late Friday, police spokesperson Nahum Daso told The Associated Press. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Nigeria's northeast has been hit by attacks carried out by Islamic militants from the Boko Haram group and its splinter, the Islamic State West Africa Province. Boko Haram, Nigeria's homegrown jihadis, took up arms in 2009 to fight Western education and impose their radical version of Islamic law. The conflict also has spilled into Nigeria's northern neighbors. Some 35,000 civilians have been killed and more than 2 million displaced in the northeastern region, according to the U.N. Despite promises by President Bola Tinubu's administration to address Nigeria's security challenges, the violence has persisted.
