The United Nations says Nigeria will be losing five Internally Displaced Persons every hour at the various IDP camps across the country if nothing is done to scale up interventions for their food and medicare.

Mohammed Safieldin, the UN humanitarian coordinator to Nigeria, made the shocking revelation at an emergency meeting with donor agencies and the Borno State Government in Abuja.

He said that over 200,000 persons, mainly children are at the risk of dying from malnutrition in Borno State as humanitarian needs of IDPs continue to rise.

This is coming at a time the Borno of State Governor, Kashim Shettima has expressed disappointment over what he described as the tactical withdrawal of support by the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA.

Shettima alleged that the last time NEMA supplied food to the IDPs was in February.

He urged donor agencies and philanthropists to look beyond the IDP camps as some returnees are facing similar food and healthcare challenges in their various communities.

Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole assured that government will give priority attention to the needs of victims of insurgency.

On June 16, ICIR reporter, Samuel Malik, who traveled to the Maiduguri had reported that “Urgent intervention was required to forestall a humanitarian crisis of grave proportions at the Internally Displaced Persons Camp in Bama, where hundreds are at the risk of dying.”

“Hygiene and sanitation in the camp is horrible. The environment is filthy, with faecal matter littering the whole place because, unbelievably, there are no toilets. When people need to use the toilet, they just go behind their makeshift shelter to ease themselves,

“The shelters are made by the displaced persons themselves with zinc, which they get from dilapidated buildings in the town. There is inadequate ventilation and when it rains, it is a sorry sight as the shelters can hardly protect them from the rain.”

Read Malik’s Report Here.