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North-East Nigeria: Humanitarian Situation Update - Progress on key activities from the 2019-2021 Humanitarian Response Strategy, January 2020 edition (covering 1 November - 31 December 2019)

Countries
Nigeria
Sources
OCHA
Publication date

7.1 MILLION PEOPLE IN NEED

6.2 MILLION PEOPLE TARGETED

5.4 MILLION PEOPLE REACHED

OPERATIONAL OVERVIEW

In the months of November and December, rising insecurity to locations along the Maiduguri – Monguno and Maiduguri – Damaturu road continued to impede the delivery of life-saving aid. Moreover, the humanitarian community witnessed a rise in security incidents directly impacting aid workers and humanitarian programs. On 13 December, non-state armed groups killed four men who were among six aid workers abducted on 26 July 2019 when their convoy came under attack near Damasak in Mobbar LGA.
The humanitarian community condemned the killing and expressed concerns over an increasingly volatile operational environment in which aid workers are now a direct target.
Moreover, non-state armed groups increasingly set up illegal vehicle checkpoints along major roads. This concerning trend is restricting freedom of movement for civilians, hindering access for aid workers and heightening the risk of kidnappings and abductions. On 22 December, three aid workers were among a group of civilians abducted along the Monguno – Maiduguri by non-state armed groups after stopping at one of these checkpoints. On 26 December, two female aid workers were brutally executed after armed groups operatives asked them to step out of a bus at an illegal checkpoint on the Gwoza – Madagali road, in the Gwoza LGA.
These security-related incidents, directly involving aid workers, continue to reflect the volatility of the operating environment and its adverse impact on humanitarian programmes, planning and activities. It has become more difficult to reach people-inneed, particularly those outside garrison towns.
The situation that unfolded in Rann, Kala/Balge LGA (Borno State) throughout November and December is indicative of the operational challenges in delivering humanitarian aid in the north-east. Floods from the River Kaalia in neighboring Cameroon damaged more than 4,000 hectares of farmland that people rely on as their main source of food. By the end of the year, some 85 per cent of the farmlands were reportedly flooded, leaving the population without food. However, access constraints due to poor road conditions and insecurity hindered aid organizations from reaching the location to provide food assistance. The town’s population largely fled to neighboring Ngala in search of food, arriving in already overcrowded conditions in the reception centre there. In response, the Inter-Sector Working Group (ISWG) activated the Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) and conducted assessment missions to Rann and Ngala on 20 November to identify needs and preposition assistance in Ngala.
In December, the ISWG moved forward with the development of the Humanitarian Needs Overview and the 2020 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) incorporating sector analyses. As of 31 December 2019, $565.7 million (66.7 per cent) of required funds had been received, according to the Financial Tracking Service (FTS) (https://fts.unocha. org/appeals/714/summary).

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.