On Wednesday Hillary Clinton called the kidnapping of more than 300 school girls in Nigeria "abominable", "criminal" and "an act of terrorism."
The government of Nigeria has been "somewhat derelict in its responsibility" to protect children, she said in a conversation with ABC's Robin Roberts. "They need to make it a priority."
The former secretary of state added, "the Nigerian government must accept help."
"It's horrible, Robin, it's horrible."
Clinton's comments come as global uproar continues to mount over the fate of the hundreds of Nigerian schoolgirls abducted by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram in mid-April, and just one day after UNICEF confirmed the abduction of 8 more girls.
ABC News Full Coverage: Nigeria Kidnappings
On Tuesday, the White House announced it is sending a team to Nigeria to aid the effort to find the girls and those responsible. And just hours before, the Senate passed a resolution condemning the kidnapping, saying it's time to send a message to the "bad guys" that they need to leave the girls alone.
On Sunday, Hillary Clinton tweeted her support of the effort to find the girls.
Clinton's remarks came at Philanthropy New York's annual meeting, which was held at the Ford Foundation in New York City.