Red Cross Partners Bank To Address Hunger Crisis In Nig

With more than 26 million Nigerians at risk of hunger and malnutrition, the Nigeria Red Cross Society (NRCS) has urged individuals and corporate organizations to unite in a concerted effort to address this humanitarian crisis.

At a Media Conference in Abuja the Secretary General of the Society, Alhaij Abubakar Kende
stressed the urgent need for immediate attention to alleviate the far-reaching consequences of this dire situation.

“Children, pregnant women, and lactating mothers are bearing the brunt of malnutrition, with nearly 4.41 million children and 585,000 mothers facing acute malnutrition, and almost 1,000 Nigerian children continue to die daily from malnutrition-related causes.

“More than half of the states in Nigeria are presently food insecure, and the hunger crisis has reached an alarming level. Increased insecurity, inflation, extreme weather patterns, and global conflicts continue to drive hunger”.

“The Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS) is deeply concerned about the escalating food insecurity crisis in Nigeria, which threatens the lives and well-being of millions of vulnerable citizens.The time to act is now”, he said.

According to him, the organization is in partnership with a commercial bank to help raise funds locally to support the “Hunger Crisis Appeal” designed to provide relief to those who are affected by the crisis.

He explained that the funds would be directed towards providing multipurpose cash for emergency relief and recovery, prioritizing health and care, nutritional support for pregnant and lactating mothers, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) initiatives, and livelihood programs to reduce diseases and other infections.

The Regional head, FCT and North central region of the commercial bank, Rita Etomi Ademola said partnership with the Nigeria Red Cross Society which was facilitated by the International Federation of Red Cross and red crescent Societies, IFRC, would provide assistance to over 1 million Nigerians in 11 states across the federation, where the impact of hunger is most severe.

The Head of delegation, IFRC Country Cluster delegation for Benin, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo, Mr. Bhupinder Tomar who highlighted Nigeria’s current unprecedented hunger crisis urged Nigerians to unite in supporting the Red Cross efforts to alleviate the suffering of the vulnerable populace.

By Oduyemi Odumade, Edited By Grace Namiji