ICC Note: Thousands of children in Nigeria face severe malnutrition as a result of the drought and the insurgence of Boko Haram. According to reports from the United Nations, scores of these children will die if they do not receive appropriate treatment on time. Even though Boko Haram has been pushed back from many of their territories by military assault, they continue to spread fear in the area as they respond with child suicide bombings. This Islamist group has engaged in repeated attacks against Christians, and they continue to target any group that intervenes with their goal of establishing an Islamic State.
08/28/2016, Nigeria (Reuters) – Nearly half a million children around Lake Chad face “severe acute malnutrition” due to drought and a seven-year insurgency by Islamist militant group Boko Haram in northeastern Nigeria, UNICEF said on Thursday.
Of the 475,000 deemed at risk, 49,000 in Nigeria’s Borno state, Boko Haram’s heartland, will die this year if they do not receive treatment, according to the United Nations’ child agency, which is appealing for $308 million to cope with the crisis.
However, to date, UNICEF said it had only received $41 million, 13 percent of what it needs to help those affected in the four countries – Chad, Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon – that border Lake Chad.
…
