Highlights
Key priorities highlighted by the Inter-Ministerial Task Force (IMTF) for emergency response in the north east are food, nutrition, primary health care, WASH, education, recovery and resettlement with livelihood support.
In total 105,285 children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) have been admitted to therapeutic feeding programmes in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, reaching 26 per cent of the target for 2016 (398,188).
An additional 58,046 families received Long Lasting Insecticide-Treated Nets (LLITNs) in Yobe and in newly liberated areas, and more than 2.85 million people have been reached with primary healthcare services.
Nearly 44 per cent (537,033) of targeted people have access to water, 83 per cent (858,604) have access to sanitation facilities and 51 per cent (564,862) have been reached with hygiene promotion and WASH kits.
So far, 2,985 children formerly associated with armed conflict are being supported to reintegrate into their communities and 5,283 unaccompanied and separated children have received support.
With UNICEF’s support, 87,555 children have access to learning spaces while 153,302 children have been reached with learning materials, especially focusing on girls to encourage enrollment.
Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs
Key priorities highlighted by the Inter-Ministerial Task Force (IMTF) for the conflict affected areas in the north east are food, nutrition, primary health care, WASH, education, recovery and resettlement with livelihood support. Despite governmental and humanitarian efforts, access challenges continue to hamper the scale up of humanitarian response due to insecurity and poor road conditions. In Borno, the worst affected area nine LGAs have no access due to high insecurity while remaining have limited access. Some key markets in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa States are still disrupted with limited activity posing additional challenges. Economic recession due to decline in oil revenues and reduction in foreign reserves have resulted in persistent depreciation of Nigerian currency further worsening access to food and negatively impacting the nutritional status of vulnerable population in the north east.
The third round of polio immunization as part of the outbreak response (OBR) started on 15 October in 18 high risk states including Borno, Adamawa and Yobe. A global shortage of Bivalent Oral Polio Vaccine (bOPV) resulted in limited stocks for the OBR. This challenge was overcome due to swift action to relocate stocks from states having excess supplies to those facing a shortage. Teams have intensified vaccination monitoring and supervision to avoid double vaccination given the limited supplies.
On 16 October, 21 girls kidnapped by Boko Haram more than two years ago in Chibok, northeast Nigeria, were unified with their families. The abducted Chibok girls are among thousands of women and girls that UNICEF estimates have been held and subjected to violence by the group. UNICEF has supported hundreds of women and girls who have already been released or escaped from Boko Haram.
On 12 October, a suicide bomber detonated explosives which killed 10 people and injured one health worker near the entrance of the Muna Garage IDP camp. The blast temporarily affected UNICEF’s ability to conduct activities, which have since then resumed.