U.S. donates additional $37 million to assist Northeast Nigeria

Following a trip to Maiduguri at the center of the Boko Haram insurgency this week, USAID’s Office for Foreign Disaster Assistance Director Jeremy Konyndyk announced $37 million in new funding to support additional humanitarian assistance for people affected by the conflict and severe food insecurity in Nigeria and throughout the Lake Chad Basin.

At a press conference Wednesday, August 10, at the Nigerian Emergency Management Agency, Konyndyk said the funding for assistance implemented by international NGOs and UN agencies brings the total USAID humanitarian support for the region to $318 million since last year. The United States is the single largest humanitarian donor to the region.

"The United States is committed to supporting Nigeria to ease this humanitarian crisis,” Konyndyk said, and help sustain this vulnerable population until they can resume livelihoods upended by conflict.

Despite gradually improving security conditions, the humanitarian situation remains dire. Throughout the region, approximately 5 million people need emergency food assistance and 2.5 million people are displaced.

"These issues are enormous," Muhammad Sani Sidi, director general of the Nigeria Emergency Management Agency said, but added we are working toward a "full recovery," including job skills training for the displaced.