The United Nations wants to provide $1 billion worth of supplies to victims of Boko Haram jihadists in northeast Nigeria next year as part of its Humanitarian Response Plan for 2017.
The hope is that the aid will reach nearly seven million people who have been affected by the militant group’s insurgency, which has killed more than 15,000 people and forced more than two million to flee their homes over a seven-year period.
“This is the largest crisis on the African continent and I am confident that with the support of the international community and the private sector, we can begin to bring hope to the people of the northeast,” U.N. Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator Peter Lundberg said in a statement.
Over the past few months, Nigerian troops have pushed Boko Haram out of areas the group had held since 2015 to reveal thousands of people who were living in a level of suffering that had previously not been known.
The money sought in the Humanitarian Response Plan will go towards food, shelter, health care and other life-saving materials for those who are in dire need.
“The narrative on this humanitarian crisis can no longer be ignored and we are appealing to the international community to help us prevent the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians over the coming 12 months,” Lundberg said.
