Australian Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop has announced that her country will provide $5m further assistance to address the humanitarian situation in North-East Nigeria.
A statement on May 29 indicated that the additional funding will be delivered by the World Food Programme and Red Cross to meet the needs of over 7 million people at risk of starvation in northeast Nigeria due to ongoing conflict and drought, including 1.4 million acutely malnourished children.
This funding supplements Australia’s regular funding to the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund and humanitarian organisations to respond to humanitarian crises globally, including in Africa.
In the 2016-17 tear, Australia contributed $15.7m for humanitarian assistance in North-East Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin.
The Australian High Commission in Abuja also supports these larger multilateral efforts through its Direct Aid Program (DAP).
This year, the High Commission is providing assistance to organisations to deliver projects including: clean cook stoves and income generating activities for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and the production and distribution of nutritional supplements.