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UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The World Food Programme (WFP) on Thursday said that it is scaling up its assistance to reach more than 1.5 million people in desperate need in the Lake Chad Basin, as further areas become accessible inside Nigeria, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters here.
"Across the Basin, the UN estimates that over nine million people need humanitarian assistance," Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here. "In the areas impacted by Boko Haram violence, almost one in three people suffers from moderate to severe food insecurity."
WFP urgently needs support to continue to provide food and nutritional assistance to displaced and host communities alike, he said, adding that 72 million U.S. dollars are required over the next six months.
The Chad Basin is the largest endorheic drainage basin in Africa, centered on Lake Chad. It has no outlet to the sea and contains large areas of desert or semi-arid savanna. The basin spans seven countries, including most of Chad and a large part of Niger.
In the areas affected by Boko Haram violence, nearly five million face hunger. Unless life-saving assistance is provided fast, hunger will only deepen during the current lean and rainy season, which lasts until September, the United Nations said in August.
The Nigeria-based extremist group Boko Haram seeks to impose strict Islamic law in northern Nigeria. Its insurgency has killed tens of thousands of people and has affected Nigeria's neighboring countries in the region.
Nigeria is heading up a multinational joint task force along with Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin to fight Boko Haram terrorists and bring back stability to the region.
