By Atiku Galadima, Maiduguri
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), in collaboration with SOS Children’s Villages, has expressed concern over the worsening humanitarian situation in Borno State, warning that many displaced persons may face greater hardship if the current decline in funding continues.
Speaking on “Humanitarian Context in Borno: Trends and Challenges”, the Humanitarian Action Manager, Mr. Fredson Ogbeche, said Borno State alone currently hosts about 1.7 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and over 886,000 returnees, many of whom are struggling to survive without proper shelter or means of livelihood.
According to him, an estimated 7.8 million people across Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states are in need of humanitarian assistance, as captured in the 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP).
He said the crisis in Borno has become multi-dimensional, driven by years of armed conflict, climate change and mass displacement.
“The crisis is driven by prolonged armed conflict, recurrent natural disasters and mass displacement,” Ogbeche said.
“We are worried about the increasing needs amid declining funding. There is a need for collective effort to close the funding gap and prevent further deterioration of the situation.”
He appealed to government authorities to continue providing protection and safe access for humanitarian workers who are delivering assistance to vulnerable communities across the state.
Also speaking, a representative of the Borno State Ministry of Women Affairs, who stood in for the Commissioner, called on parents to enrol their children in school and urged organisations and individuals to support women and youth empowerment, especially those who have suffered losses as a result of the insurgency.
She commended SOS Children’s Villages for its sustained humanitarian work in the state, describing it as timely and supportive to the vulnerable, particularly women and children recovering from years of conflict and the last year flooding which displaced more than 400,000 households in Maiduguri.
The discussion, organised by SOS Children’s Villages, aimed at finding practical solutions to the growing concern among humanitarian actors over the sustainability of aid in the North-East, where thousands of families are still struggling to rebuild their lives after years of insurgency.