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Over 1.4 mln children forced to flee conflict in Nigeria, region: UNICEF

Xinhua, September 18, 2015 Adjust font size:

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported on Friday that a rise in attacks carried out by armed group Boko Haram over the past five months has uprooted 500,000 children, bringing the total number of displaced children in northeast Nigeria and neighboring countries to more than 1.4 million.

UNICEF indicated that in northern Nigeria alone, close to 1.2 million children, of which over half are under five years old, have had to flee their homes, while an additional 265,000 have been displaced in Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

"Each of these children running for their lives is a childhood cut short," said UNICEF regional director for West and Central Africa Manuel Fontaine, adding that "it's truly alarming to see that children and women continue to be killed, abducted and used to carry bombs."

In light of these trends, the UN Children's Fund said it has scaled up its lifesaving operations and support to the thousands of children and their families who have been affected by protracted violence.

Despite a funding shortage -- UNICEF has only received 32 percent of the 50.3 million U.S. dollars required for this year's humanitarian response in the Lake Chad region -- over 315,000 children have received measles vaccinations, more than 200,000 have been provided with access to safe drinking water while 65,000 displaced and refugee children have been given access to education.

Close to 72,000 displaced children have also received psychosocial support, and almost 65,000 children under five have received treatment for acute malnutrition.

Fontaine warned, however, that "with more refugees and not enough resources, our ability to deliver lifesaving assistance on the ground is now seriously compromised."

"Without additional support, hundreds of thousands of children in need will lack access to basic health care, safe drinking water and education," said Fontaine. Endit