WFP Scaling Up to Fight Extreme Hunger in Areas Affected by Boko Haram in Nigeria (For the Media)

WFP is extremely concerned about the critical food insecurity situation in northeastern Nigeria, regardless of whether a famine can technically be declared. In Boko Haram-affected areas, Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States, 4.7 million people are facing hunger, of whom 1.8 million people are in need of emergency food assistance. By end of December 2016, WFP had assisted more than a million people, including more than 796,000 with life-saving food, 171,000 with cash-based transfers and 192,000 children with specialized food to combat malnutrition. The rapid response is part of WFP’s larger operational plan to gradually scale up to reach 1.8 million people a month with food and nutrition support in 2017.