Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation donates $1m to Boko Haram victims

Nigeria’s Borno State has confirmed receipt of a cash donation of $1 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The funds are meant to support victims of the Boko Haram insurgency in the north eastern state.

The state governor, Kashim Shettima made the disclosure over the weekend while distributing food items and farm inputs to victims of the insurgency.

“We are gathered here today to commence distribution of a key intervention of one million U.S. dollars food and farming aid donated by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,’’ Shettima is quoted by local media to have said.

According to him, about 40,000 households were targeted to benefit from the ongoing humanitarian relief efforts. Each household were to get a bag of rice and beans each.

He further disclosed that some 200 farm-families were also going to be handed land with incentives like improved seeds, fertilizer, chemicals and technical supervision to grow food crops.

“We are grateful to God for creating people like Mr Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda. These leading lights of philanthropy across the world have shown love to the good people of Borno at a time we are on the ground and looking for any hand to hold in trying to lift ourselves up,’‘ he said.

Borno govt distributes $1 million worth of food paid for by GatesFoundation https://t.co/mD1fsnxoY5

Dear BillGates: Thank you!

— Dr. Aminu Gamawa (@aminugamawa) August 15, 2016

He re-emphasized the need for a focus by all stakeholders on the victims of the insurgency as the country heads into the post insurgency era.

Borno is the heartland of Boko Haram. The insurgency was originated there and unleashed its biggest damage to the people even as it extended to adjoining states of Adamawa and Yobe.

It occasionally extended to other states like Gombe and the ancient city of Kano. Across the Lake Chad region, the insurgents have also caused the death and displacement of hundreds of people in Chad, Niger and in Cameroon’s far north region.