UNITED NATIONS— The UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has released 10 million US dollars to aid victims in a Northeast Nigeria food and nutrition crisis, a UN spokesman said.

“Our humanitarian colleagues stress that if immediate action is not taken, more than 5,000 children are expected to die and those who survive could face lifelong disabilities,” said Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. “Malnutrition puts children at greater risk of dying from common infections.”

Dujarric said that the new CERF funds would boost the ability to treat and identify acute malnutrition. Some 1.74 million children under 5 could suffer from acute malnutrition this year, while more than 300,000 children are expected to be severely acutely malnourished.

Extremist violence in Northeast Nigeria touched off mass displacements leading to millions of people suffering acute hunger.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK