HIGHLIGHTS
The number of people affected by widespread flooding across Nigeria has risen to over 3.2 million, with over 600 fatalities. Over 1.4 million people are displaced.
14,000 people affected by cholera in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States since January, with 443 deaths.
Recent flooding increases risk of waterborne disease such as cholera.
4.1 million people face severe food insecurity this lean season and 1.74 million children under 5 are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition this year.
KEY FIGURES
8.4M People in need of humanitarian assistance
5.5M People targeted for humanitarian aid
2.2M People internally displaced
4.1M People in need of food security assistance
3M People in need of nutrition assistance
1M People in hard-to-reach areas
BACKGROUND
Situation Overview
8.3 million people to need humanitarian assistance in 2023
North-east Nigeria remains one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, with 8.3 million people estimated to need assistance in 2023. This is according to the recently launched Global Humanitarian Overview (GHO), which provides an annual assessment of global humanitarian needs and how best to respond to them. Continued violent conflict, the climate crisis, disease, and other risks have pushed millions of highly vulnerable people in the north-east into survival mode. Addressing the needs of 5.4 million people in 2023 will require close to US$ 1.2 billion.
Early next year, the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for Nigeria will be launched setting out detailed and prioritised plans for meeting the needs of affected people in north-east Nigeria, coordinated across United Nations agencies and NGO partners, as well as with the Government of Nigeria. Through this HRP the humanitarian community will take collective action to save people’s lives and protect the most vulnerable.
Number of food insecure people to rise to 4.4 million in 2023 lean season
According to the October 2022 Cadre Harmonisé analysis results, the number of people facing food insecurity in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) states will reach 4.4 million people in the 2023 lean season. Among them, over 578,000 will be in ‘emergency’ (Phase 4) conditions, characterized by large food consumption gaps which are reflected in very high acute malnutrition rates and excess mortality. Without urgent action, almost 4,000 people are expected to be in ‘catastrophe’ (Phase 5) conditions, in which starvation, death, destitution and extremely critical acute malnutrition levels are evident.
The number of food insecure people has remained high since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and has shown no signs of abating due to elevated inflation, record-level flooding, and access limitations for humanitarian actors attempting to reach affected populations in hard-to-reach areas. In the 2022 lean season, 4.1 million people were estimated to face severe food insecurity. Despite significant funding challenges, humanitarian and Government actors responded to provide life-saving assistance and build resilience among communities, assisting over 1.7 million people with food assistance and 1 million people with agricultural livelihoods support.
Flooding affects 4.4 million people across Nigeria
Severe floods have affected more than 4.4 million people across Nigeria since July, according to the latest update by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). The floods have displaced over 2.4 million people. More than 660 people have lost their lives. The catastrophic floods have also totally damaged more than 174,000 houses in frontline states. The floods have damaged more than 676,000 hectares of farmland and may worsen already alarming levels of hunger and malnutrition in the country. More than 19.5 million people in Nigeria were already facing severe food insecurity before the floods, according to the 2022 Cadre Harmonisé food security and nutrition assessment.
As floodwater recedes in many locations and people move back to their homes, partners are moving from an emergency response towards a recovery response. Many of the humanitarian needs remain the same, including shelter needs, interventions to prevent or address disease outbreaks such as cholera, providing access to food, clean water and sanitation, health care and other essentials.
In Yobe, with wide dissemination of the flood assessment report partners working in the state have started assessing funding opportunities and intervening in key thematic areas of food security, shelter, health and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). The state Government is working to mobilize funds for medium and long-term response and recovery.
Disclaimer
- UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
- To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.