UN Calls for Global Support, Launches 2025 Lean Season Response Plan for BAY States
The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mr. Mohamed Malick Fall, has issued a passionate call for urgent funding and coordinated support from member states, government agencies, private sector actors, and donors to tackle the growing humanitarian crisis in Nigeria’s North-East.
Speaking at the launch of the 2025 Lean Season Response Plan for Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe (BAY) States on Tuesday in Abuja, Fall warned that millions of lives are at stake if the international community fails to act decisively. He disclosed that the UN is seeking $159.3 million to provide critical food and nutrition interventions during the upcoming lean season.
“Our response must be swift and impactful. Our compassion and solidarity must be steadfast. We must not fail, as the consequences are too awful to contemplate,” Fall stated. He revealed that over 30 million Nigerians are currently at risk of acute food insecurity, with 4.6 million of them located in the BAY states alone.
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Fall painted a grim picture of the situation, particularly for children. “In Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe, one million children under five are at risk of life-threatening, severe acute malnutrition. This is double the figure from last year and over four times higher than it was five years ago,” he said. He also noted that funding cuts have already impacted lifesaving nutrition services for about 40 percent of the 2.3 million children and women who need them in the region.
Also speaking at the event, Nigeria’s Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Professor Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, emphasized the Federal Government’s commitment to lead the charge in addressing the crisis. “Let me be clear: the Federal Government will lead from the front — not just in coordinating this response but in ensuring alignment with national policy and accountability of outcomes,” he said.
Yilwatda lauded the UN’s efforts and highlighted the government’s resolve to ensure that “no child in Borno, Adamawa, or Yobe should have to sleep hungry” and “no mother should lose a child to a condition we know how to treat.”
Governors of the affected states also pledged their support. Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, who joined the launch virtually, reported worsening humanitarian conditions in Madagali, Michika, and Hong due to a resurgence of terrorist activity and flooding. Meanwhile, Yobe Governor Mai Mala Buni, represented by Dr. Goje Mohammed of the State Emergency Management Agency, reaffirmed the state’s readiness to collaborate with humanitarian partners despite security challenges.
The 2025 Lean Season Food Security and Nutrition Crisis Multisector Plan seeks to mobilize resources for the most vulnerable populations during the peak hunger period from June to September. With the clock ticking, stakeholders are racing against time to prevent a full-blown catastrophe.
By PRNigeria
