The UN agency disclosed this in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES by its national communications officer, Kelechi Onyemaobi, on Wednesday
The WFP said funding is needed urgently for millions of people in Nigeria who have been severely hit by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, including conflict-hit communities "on life-support" in the North-east.
To cushion the negative effects on vulnerable people in countries hit by conflicts and the coronavirus pandemic, some humanitarian agencies across the globe have been seeking for more funding in order to ensure normalcy is restored.
The WFP said, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), "this region remains one of several most severe humanitarian crises in the world, with some 7.9 million people, especially women and children in need of urgent assistance today".
Mrs Byrs said, "That's why WFP is distributing now two months' worth of food and nutrition assistance in IDP camps and among vulnerable communities to ensure that people have enough food while they are on full or partial lockdown."
"We are actually scaling up our operations in the North-east to serve more people in response to the new challenges of more food insecurity posed by COVID-19," Ms Byrs said.
