The Australian High Commission says the Australian Government has allocated three million U.S. dollar (about N600 million) for the year 2015 to 2016 to assist Nigeria Internally Displaced Persons in the North East due to Boko Haram insurgency.
A statement from Hope Ayabina, Public Affairs Officer of the Australian High Commission in Abuja, said the money would go towards assisting people affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.
The statement said that the government had continued to contribute substantially towards the UN World Food Programme (WFP) to help fight world hunger.
“To address a number of large-scale humanitarian crises facing the international community, the government had continued to contribute substantially towards the UN World Food Programme to help fight world hunger.
“The WFP allocated US $3 million of Australian contributions to its Nigeria Regional appeal in 2015-16.
“This money will go towards assisting people in Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.
“Australia’s contribution to the WFP is being used in all four countries to assist up to 400,000 of the region’s refugees, Internally Displaced Persons and the communities hosting them to gain access to life-saving food assistance,” the statement said.
According to the statement, special attention is being paid to children under five, pregnant women and nursing mothers faced with malnutrition.
It said the High Commission in Abuja also supported larger multilateral efforts through its Direct Aid Programme (DAP).
“Over the past two years, the High Commission has provided special assistance to persons affected by the Boko Haram insurgency through a number of DAP projects.
“This is aimed at improving the standard of living in camps and host communities across the region,” the statement added.
It stated that an additional 2.4 million U.S. dollar was dedicated to existing projects to combat malnutrition in Niger during the same period.
It explained that Australia’s total global contribution to UN agency for food assistance in emergencies for 2015-2016 was 43.3 million U.S. dollar.
It said WFP worked to help prevent hunger and build resilience through programmes that used food as a means to build assets and promote economic growth in communities, helping them to become more food secure.
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