The United Nations (UN) has said that 4.6 million people are going hungry in North-Eastern Nigeria.

The organization also said that it is working with the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) to increase food and nutrition services to 1.8 million people in Borno and Yobe States.

“In Nigeria, our colleagues from the World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF are rolling out a rapid response mechanism to deliver food, health and nutrition services in difficult-to-reach areas in Borno and Yobe States,” Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General, Farhan Haq, said at a press briefing in New York on Tuesday, November 22.

“The two states are worst affected by hunger and malnutrition in northeastern Nigeria. This is part of WFP’s larger response plan – to gradually scale up to reach 1.8 million people with urgent food and nutrition support throughout 2017.

“Without urgent support, hunger will only deepen. Since August, the number of people needing urgent food assistance has increased from about 1 million to 1.8 million in Borno and Yobe States,” he added.

UN humanitarian coordinator for the Sahel, Toby Lanzer earlier said that the organization is finding it difficult to reach about 1 million people in the North-East with aid due to the activities of terrorist group, Boko Haram.