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World Humanitarian Day: UN calls for scaled-up support to Nigerians in need, safety for aid workers – EnviroNews
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Marking World Humanitarian Day, the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohamed Malick Fall, on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, thanked the thousands of aid workers supporting people in need across the country and called for increased support for millions of people facing worsening food insecurity, malnutrition and disease outbreaks during the lean and rainy seasons.
Earlier on Wednesday, Mr. Fall and members of the United Nations and Humanitarian Country Teams visited nutrition and cholera treatment centres in Maiduguri where they met government health workers, humanitarian personnel, caregivers and patients to hear their stories. The delegation saw first-hand the ongoing humanitarian response to needs in Nigeria’s northeast that reached almost 900,000 people in the first half of 2026, despite dwindling funding.
“Today, at the treatment centres we visited, I met humanitarian workers who continue to serve communities with extraordinary courage, dedication and compassion despite difficult and often dangerous conditions. We call for greater protection for these brave personnel so that they can do their critical work in safety,” said Mohamed Malick Fall, United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria.
As an example of recent joint efforts to address needs, government authorities, health workers and humanitarian partners have been working together in Borno State to tackle the ongoing cholera outbreak.
“Together, the Government, health workers and humanitarian partners have treated more than 55,000 cholera patients, providing hygiene promotion services to over 1 million people and chlorinating in excess of 500 water points giving communities access to safe drinking water. This collective work has helped drive the cholera case fatality rate down below emergency levels,” Mr. Malick Fall said.
“On this World Humanitarian Day, we honour the commitment of these aid workers to saving lives and remember colleagues around the world who have paid the ultimate price while helping others. Humanitarian workers are not targets. Hospitals, treatment centres, relief supplies, assistance convoys and civilian infrastructure must be protected. International Humanitarian Law must be respected by all parties, at all times.”
Mr. Fall stressed that protecting humanitarian workers and supplies is fundamental to ensuring assistance reaches those most in need.
“When humanitarian workers cannot safely reach communities with assistance, it is vulnerable women, men and children who suffer the consequences. Protecting humanitarian personnel and ensuring safe, unimpeded access to people in need is both a moral imperative and a legal obligation.”
Despite extraordinary efforts by humanitarian partners and government authorities, resources remain far below what is required to address growing needs. Through the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund (NHF) and the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) $135.5 million has so far been distributed in 2026 to tackle these emergencies. Additional donor contributions will be allocated over the coming months, but overall funding has dramatically reduced for humanitarian operations around the world over recent years, including in Nigeria. For 2026, Nigeria’s already hyper-prioritized Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan still faces a $159 million funding gap for the remainder of the year meaning that hundreds of thousands of people risk missing out on the lifesaving support they need.
“We are deeply grateful to donors whose contributions through our pooled funds and bilaterally to aid organizations are helping save lives during this critical period. However, needs continue to rise faster than available resources. Current funding is only a fraction of what was just a few years ago. Additional international and domestic support is urgently required to help millions of people, particularly as we move towards a more locally led response in 2027,” Mr. Malick Fall said.
The Humanitarian Coordinator also highlighted the importance of Nigeria’s ongoing humanitarian transition process, which sees international and national organizations working in partnership to strengthen national leadership and local ownership of humanitarian action.
“Nigeria’s evolution towards a nationally led humanitarian system is both necessary and an enormous opportunity for the country to do things differently. This process must be adequately resourced, carefully managed and centred on the needs of affected communities. We must invest in national institutions and local organizations that are already leading humanitarian action on the front lines. Domestic funds mobilization will be critical given the global donor environment.”
As humanitarian needs continue to grow, Mr. Fall called on all stakeholders, including governments, donors, civil society and the private sector, to work together, standing in solidarity with affected communities and the humanitarian workers serving them.
“Behind every statistic is a family struggling to survive, a child battling malnutrition, a mother seeking treatment for cholera, or a community trying to rebuild after years of crisis. On this World Humanitarian Day, let us #ActForHumanity and reaffirm our shared responsibility to protect those supporting the most vulnerable.”
