The United Nations World Food Programme has unveiled a newly constructed and fully furnished humanitarian air service terminal at the Muhammadu Buhari International Airport in Maiduguri, Borno State, in north-east Nigeria.
According to the organisers, the terminal is part of an effort to provide quick humanitarian response to the north-east of the country, a region that has been bedeviled by the Boko Haram insurgency for nearly two decades.
The facility was inaugurated by the Executive Secretary of the Borno State Agency for Coordination of Sustainable Development and Humanitarian Response, on behalf of the state governor, at a ceremony marking the completion of the project.
The new terminal is intended for immediate use by United Nations humanitarian response teams, supporting the movement of personnel and the coordination of relief operations in the region.
It consists of modern passenger handling facilities, operational offices, security installations and improved logistics infrastructure designed to support flight services for the humanitarian effort.
Speakers at the event described the project as a sign of commitment and partnership towards the vulnerable population, achieved when governments, international organisations and development partners unite behind a common purpose.
For his part, Governor Babagana Zulum applauded the United Nations for the project, which according to him will increase operational efficiency and facilitate the delivery of life-saving assistance to those in need across the north-east.