The United Nations says it is releasing 100 million dollars in aid for seven countries including Nigeria, to help them avoid famine occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic.
The other recipients are Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, South Sudan, and Yemen.
Also, Ethiopia, where fighting has broken out between the central government and the northern Tigray region, would receive one-fifth of this money.
The UN made this known on Tuesday.
The UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Mark Lowcock, said no one should view a slide into famine as an inevitable side effect of the pandemic.
He maintained that if such thing should happen it is because the world has allowed it to happen.
He was of the opinion that famine can be prevented, adding, however, that leaders should act in time to make a difference.
He observed that more money for the aid operation is the quickest and most efficient way to support famine-prevention efforts.
RPT/UN/Monic.
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