United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in partnership with European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (ECHO), has launched a programme to expedite life-saving responses and deliver essential nutrition, sanitation and hygiene supplies to crisis-impacted children in the North East.

This new initiative targets those living in crowded camps for displaced persons and conflict-stricken locations throughout the region. UNICEF noted that with generous funding from ECHO, the initiative aims to uplift the lives of nearly 88,000 persons, including nearly 50,000 acute malnourished children.

In a statement, yesterday, in Abuja, UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, Cristian Munduate, noted that children and women in North East Nigeria need not continue being deprived of fundamental survival services, adding: “We must work relentlessly to eradicate wasting and prevent needless deaths among the country’s most disadvantaged individuals.

“We are profoundly grateful for ECHO’s support, which will enable us to reach the most vulnerable children. This means fewer deaths and more healthy children. It also ensures our clinics will consistently have essential medications and micronutrients to enhance child survival rates.”

According to UNICEF, the longstanding conflict in the North East continues to extract a grave toll on children’s wellbeing, as well as on pregnant and lactating women.

“The UN estimates that over eight million people require humanitarian aid, with roughly 2.2 million under-five children and pregnant or lactating women suffering from wasting in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.

“Alarmingly, 60 per cent of children in these three states are impacted by wasting, with only 31 per cent of these children having access to treatment services. This year alone, UNICEF and partners project that over 700,000 children will require wasting treatments across North East Nigeria,” it stated.

The global children body further noted that the innovative programme would extend the use of the Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) approach, an easily applied method for assessing children’s malnutrition status – to a greater number of vulnerable infants and young children.

“In addition, it will empower mothers and caregivers to identify wasting in their children. Slated to run for one year, this programme will prioritise supporting nutrition and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sectors, enabling partner organisations to coordinate effectively and deliver vital supplies swiftly, particularly in crisis-prone locations.

“The programme’s main objective is to establish preventative measures and treatments to mitigate wasting, disease outbreaks and child protection risks, thereby reducing mortality and morbidity among children already plagued by conflict and repeated displacements.

“In addition, through the coordination of the Rapid Response Mechanism, this action will seek to reach the most underserved communities in hard-to-reach locations, with a life-saving integrated package of nutrition and WASH assistance to address their immediate needs.”