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UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported that thousands of Nigerian refugees are living in difficult conditions in isolated and insecure border areas of northernmost Cameroon and urgently need assistance, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters here Friday.
"UNHCR is keen to help, but the continuing Boko Haram threat is a hindrance to regular access," Dujarric said.
A UNHCR team was able to visit previously inaccessible border areas of Far North Region, where they helped pre-register more than 21,000 refugees who have been living for months with host families after fleeing deadly Boko Haram attacks in north-east Nigeria, the spokesman said.
The latest UN figures put the number of out of camp refugees there at 27,000.
"The team found refugees were living under tough conditions," he said. "Some are staying with destitute host families but most were sleeping in the open under trees, in makeshift shelters or on the dirt floors of dilapidated classrooms."
In some villages, lack of health care and sanitation as well as potable water is a major concern as infrastructure has been destroyed or damaged, he said. "Basic services are non-existent in many areas."
Boko Haram violence has led to one of the most acute -- and sorely neglected -- humanitarian crises in the world. As more areas of northeastern Nigeria become accessible, the scale of the human tragedy is becoming apparent.
Some 2.1 million people are displaced in northeastern Nigeria. The number of people in need of food assistance in the region has risen to 4.5 million, nearly twice as many as in March. A worsening economy could see this figure rise by a further million as early as September.
There are real concerns that in the worst affected and least accessible areas of Borno and Yobe states, severe forms of hunger, and likely famine-like conditions, may be occurring.
The vast majority of people with moderate and severe food insecurity are in Borno State -- at more than three million, WFP said.
Unless life-saving assistance is provided fast, hunger will only deepen. An estimated 244,000 children suffer from severe acute malnutrition, including up to 49,000 children who are at risk of dying if not reached with treatment.
