Japan has donated $2m to assist the 48,000 victims of Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East through the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).
According to the WFP, “As part of WFP’s efforts to build stability across communities in North-East Nigeria, Japan’s contribution will support more than 48,000 women and men to rebuild their livelihoods. WFP will provide food purchased with the money to enable the people to grow crops, raise livestock and rehabilitate assets that may have been damaged during conflict in the region.”
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The statement also quoted Shigeru Umetsu, Chargé d’affaires ad interim of Japan to Nigeria, as saying, “The government of Japan is committed to supporting Nigerian and international efforts to ensure that people in need of food in the North-East do not go hungry.”
The recent support from Japan will complement WFP’s life-saving efforts in Nigeria where 700,000 people are provided cash or food assistance every month, and over 250,000 women and children receive supplementary nutritional support.
“The WFP hopes that other donors will follow suit to support changing the lives of thousands of crisis-affected people, thus bringing back stability to the North-East. In view of the forth-coming June-July planting season, it is vital that adequate funding for livelihood programmes is received,” the statement added.