Food convoy reaches remote town of Banki in North-East Nigeria

(Maiduguri, Abuja: 21 July 2016): On Thursday 21 July vital food supplies were transported to Banki in north-east Nigeria when a humanitarian convoy reached the town.
The World Food Program (WFP) team in Cameron delivered 30 metric tons of various life-saving food items. The food was received by the WFP team in Nigeria and immediately distributed to the 25,000 civilians living inside the town of Banki. An additional 700 kilograms of supplementary food for malnourished children was airlifted from the state capital Maiduguri to Banki on the same day.

Recently, essential drugs were delivered and an immunization campaign, reaching all eligible children in Banki was completed by the UN and nations partners.
The United Nations team from Nigeria was headed by the acting Humanitarian Coordinator, Mr. Munir Safieldin while the United Nations team from Cameron was headed by the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Ms. Najat Rochdi. The team members included WFP and OCHA staff from both countries.

SEMA Chairman in Borno State participated in the mission. The Nigerian Army in Banki and the Multi-National Task Force (MNTF) in Cameron facilitated the operation.
The Nigerian Army took control of Banki from Boko Haram in September last year. The delivery of humanitarian assistance is now scaling up in Banki and other similar locations that were inaccessible until recently. A team from the UN assessed the humanitarian needs of the civilians in the city four weeks ago and found food and access to clean water a priority.

The Humanitarian Response Plan 2016 for Nigeria requires $ 279 million to provide humanitarian interventions. Just 28 per cent of the funds required have been received todate and a further US$200 million is needed to meet the life-saving needs of people affected by the current crisis in four states in north-east Nigeria.