Your editorial (Prevent famine by returning money stolen from Africa’s poor, 5 December) rightly highlights the urgent need for humanitarian action to help those at risk of starvation in north-east Nigeria. We know from our work on the ground that tens of thousands of children will be at risk of starvation, abuse and death unless the international community takes immediate and coordinated action. We welcome the UN’s efforts in doubling its funding appeal for north-east Nigeria. But we also need to ensure that equal priority is given to girls caught up in the conflict. They make up one-third of the 2.6 million people who have been forced to flee their homes due to violence. For these girls, sexual abuse and forced marriage are real dangers that routinely threaten their lives. If we are to ensure the protection, survival and dignity of women and girls caught up in conflict, then as well as providing food, water and shelter, the humanitarian community must address sexual violence from the onset of its response.
Eugenio Donadio
Programme manager for disaster risk management, Plan International UK
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