The ongoing conflict in north-east Nigeria, now entering its eleventh year, and the upsurge in violent attacks witnessed over the past year in the crisis-affected states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe have deepened humanitarian needs. The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbates the situation and risks wreaking havoc on the most vulnerable population. Across the three crisis-affected BAY states, 10.6 million people out of a total of 13 million – four in five people – will need some form of humanitarian assistance in 2020. This is a 49 per cent increase in the number of people in need since last year, up from 7.1 million, mainly from increasing violence and insecurity further compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is also the highest number of people in need estimated since the beginning of the coordinated humanitarian response five years ago.

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