Children Who Escaped Boko Haram Live In Shadow Of Famine
Children Who Escaped Boko Haram Live In Shadow Of Famine
Danielle Villasana— Refugees Deeply
As severe hunger takes hold in northeast Nigeria, the U.N. estimates that nearly a half-million children under five will suffer from acute malnutrition this year, and 90,000 may die. Photojournalist Danielle Villasana tells the stories behind the devastating numbers.
MAIDUGURI, NIGERIA – Izah fled her home in northeast Nigeria in 2015 when Boko Haram militants attacked her village, set her house on fire and shot her husband dead.
Advertisement
She is now a widow raising seven children alone in a displacement camp in Monguno, a remote town in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno State that was recaptured by the Nigerian military from Boko Haram in 2015, but was recently attacked again by the militants.
Amid the famine-like conditions taking hold across parts of Borno state over the past year, lack of food led to severe acute malnutrition for Izah’s youngest child, a two-year-old boy. “It was as if he was going to die,” she said.
He completed several weeks of treatment last fall, and by October his condition had improved.
There is a severe hunger crisis in northeast Nigeria, a region afflicted by years of insurgency by militant group Boko Haram. The ongoing violence has displaced 2.4 million people throughout Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger, and has exacerbated dire food shortages in the region.
Advertisement
The U.N. children’s fund, UNICEF, warns that an estimated 450,000 children under five years old will suffer from severe acute malnutrition in northeast Nigeria this year, while 90,000 children are at risk of dying.
In December, the U.N. estimated that 55,000 people are living in famine-like conditions in Borno State, and that number could double this year. But many Nigerians are living in areas where no aid agencies can reach, so the true figure may be much higher.
“These are numbers that you don’t see, they don’t exist,” said Arjan de Wagt, UNICEF’s chief of nutrition in Nigeria. “I don’t see that there are many places in the world where you’ve got these kind of levels.”
Advertisement
Although the Nigerian military has recaptured swathes of territory from Boko Haram, the group continues to conduct attacks, including suicide bombings using women and young girls. These often deadly assaults cause people to flee their homes and farmlands in increasing numbers, further destabilizing communities and the local economy, quashing hopes for those already displaced to return home and rebuild the region.
“The scale of displacement is really overwhelming,” said Stephanie Puccetti, the International Rescue Committee’s Senior Emergency Program Coordinator in Nigeria.
This continued insecurity also piles more pressure on local communities in northeast Nigeria, where 75 percent of displaced people are sheltering, according to Puccetti. The years-long displacement of millions of people has further strained the northeast, where food insecurity and poverty have been exacerbated by conflict.
Advertisement
“I think [it’s] striking just how communities have really worked to accommodate these IDPs (internally displaced persons), and to provide support when they have so little. People have been so generous,” said Puccetti.
The lean season, the period between harvests, is approaching soon. Many people in the region are worried about how these struggling communities will cope.
While there have been many food aid distributions by humanitarian groups, the coming lean season means people will soon exhaust their food supplies, says Malik Samuel, Nigeria field communications manager for Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
Advertisement
“This is what’s really complex about this crisis,” says Puccetti. “You have an emergency IDP population that requires 12 months a year of support, [and] you also have really vulnerable families who either have returned back home to their areas and are trying to rebuild their lives, or who just never left and are still there who are much more reliant on farming and their own food production.”
In response, organizations like IRC are not only providing medical care but also trying to support the local community in the northeast to boost farming, cope with food insecurity and recover from severe acute malnutrition.
Advertisement
Humanitarian organizations have however struggled to get the necessary funding for a crisis that receives infrequent media coverage.
At an international conference in Norway last month, $672 million was raised to help the region over the next three years. But the U.N. says it needs $1.5 billion this year alone to prevent famine. The U.N. Security Council warned that “barely enough is being done” after a visit to the area in early March.
“If you don’t provide the proper food, the child that is malnourished today and treated might be severely malnourished again tomorrow,” said de Wagt.
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.