134 starved children may die daily in Borno - Unicef warns

dimeji akinloye

July 27, 2016 10:04 AM

The agency said it found people without water, food or sanitation in areas formerly in control of the Boko Haram terrorists.

The United Nations Childrens Emergency Fund (Unicef) has disclosed that about a quarter of a million displaced children in

The agency said it found people without water, food or sanitation in areas formerly in control of the Boko Haram terrorists, warning that tens of thousands of them may die if not urgently treated.

An international charity group, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), had, last month, said that the condition of the Internally Displaced Persons in Bama camp, where 24, 0000 are living, is a catastrophic humanitarian emergency.

According to the group, nearly 200 refugees who fled Boko Haram attacks, have died of starvation and dehydration.

"Some 134 children on average will die every day from causes linked to acute malnutrition if the response is not scaled up quickly," Unicef's Regional Director for Western and Central Africa, Manuel Fontaine.

"We need all partners and donors to step forward to prevent any more children from dying. No-one can take on a crisis of this scale alone."

ALSO READ: Govt orders probe of alleged diversion of food meant for IDPs in Borno

The Nigerian Army had on Monday, July 25, boasted that the Boko Haram sect, which has killed about 20,000 people and left over two million displaced, has been completely defeated.

dimeji akinloye