Nigeria: ICRC delivers food to 25,000 people in Rann

Abuja (ICRC) - More than 25,000 people in Rann received food during a three-day distribution by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) that ended on Monday.

The recipients received rice, beans, oil, salt and Corn Soya Blend in quantities that should last for five weeks. The distribution was carried out by the ICRC and community volunteers.

"People in Rann were happy to receive food. They have been isolated by rains and poor quality roads since June and running very low on food supplies" said Mohammed Sheikh-Ali, ICRC economic security coordinator. "At the beginning of January, we laid sand bags on the road for our trucks to be able to cross. We got 12 trucks full of food to Rann last week on the day of the airstrike, which prevented us to distribute. As soon as medical evacuations were over, we organised the distribution with the help of the community".

Last week's airstrike killed and wounded scores of people, including twenty aid workers from the Nigerian Red Cross Society.

For further information, please contact:
Aleksandra Matijevic Mosimann, ICRC Abuja, tel: +234 706 418 90 02 or +234 703 595 41 68
Elodie Schindler, ICRC Geneva, tel: +41 22 730 21 86 or +41 79 217 32 17