Floods affected 4.4 million Nigerians – UN

…2.4 million displaced

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs said more than 4.4 million people have been affected by flooding since July 2022.

This situation report was disclosed in OCHA's Flash Update, released Thursday, December 14, 2022. The report also noted that at least 2.4 million people have been displaced in the country due to flooding. He also said that more than half of those displaced were residents of Bayelsa State.

“Floods have affected over 4.4 million people in Nigeria since July, with over 2.4 million displaced. More than half of them are in Bayelsa State. »

The report also took into account the destruction of agricultural land and lamented that it may lead to high food insecurity in the country.

It said: "Some 676,000 hectares of agricultural land have been destroyed. Damage to the current harvest and limited access to income are likely to worsen emergency food insecurity in the coming months."

The PUNCH previously reported in November that the same agency noted that more than 3.2 million people had been affected by the floods. While he put the number of displaced people at the time at 1.4 million, he pointed out that 4.1 million people were at risk of severe food insecurity in the country.

The agency said that "the priority humanitarian needs remain housing, access to drinking water and sanitation, food, health care and interventions to prevent or deal with epidemics such as cholera."

The status report reads: "As floodwaters recede, people return to their homes, partners shift from emergency response to recovery response. From Many humanitarian needs remain the same, including shelter needs, interventions to prevent or treat epidemics such as cholera, access to food, clean water and sanitation, healthcare and other essentials.

“The government and humanitarian partners are also coordinating assistance to restore basic services, including primary health care and water supply facilities, schools and other critical infrastructure. . Agricultural support – including the replacement of seeds, tools and other productive assets – is urgently needed to respond to crop losses during the harvest season and to help farmers regain their livelihoods.

“It is essential to ensure food security and, potentially, malnutrition. A third phase, comprising measures to improve early warning, emergency preparedness and planning, disaster risk reduction and mitigation, as well as anticipatory measures for next year, is in progress. discussions with the authorities to mitigate the worst effects and strengthen the resilience of populations to future disasters. ”

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