The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama on Monday said that about US$700 million had been realised from the pledges made by donors at the United Nations-backed Oslo Humanitarian Conference on Nigeria and the Lake Chad Region in Norway.

The conference was organised by Federal Government in collaboration with Norway and Germany to address the humanitarian crisis in Lake Chad basin countries.

“At the last count, I believe about US$700 million has been realised in the pledges made to assist in the humanitarian crisis in the Lake Chad basin countries including Nigeria,” Onyeama told newsmen after a closed door meeting with Mark Lowcock, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator in Abuja.

“Nigeria is having the large chunk of it. A lot of the fund is going into relief and food materials for the Lake Chad countries,” the minister added.

He said though a lot had been achieved from the Oslo conference, there were challenges in redeeming the pledges made by the donors.

“The challenge in the pledge is to have it all redeemed but it is a work in progress and significant amount has been redeemed” he said.

He commended the UN for putting the humanitarian crisis in the Lake Chad on the global stage.

“UN has also embarked on creating awareness through the UN General Assembly and to encourage international support,” he said.

Speaking earlier, Lowcock said he was in Nigeria to have firsthand assessment of the humanitarian crisis in the Northeast and advocate for increased support to the affected people and communities.

“Next week when the leadership of the UN will gather we will have the opportunity to take the stock of the progress made and to identify further areas where the assistance would be provided,” he said.

While in Maiduguri, Lowcock would meet with victims of insurgency and aid partners to evaluate humanitarian response and also engage with government officials in the northeast. (Daily Trust)

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