From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has donated assorted health commodities to the Benue state government as part of their contributions to impact the lives of survivors of the Yelwata massacre.
The Chief Field Office UNICEF Kaduna, Gerida Birukila, who made the donation on Friday at the temporary IDP camp in Makurdi the state capital, said the commodities cholera kits and medicines to combat diseases at the camp.
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Speaking to newsmen, Birukila said “We have just given the Benue state government commissioner cholera kits and that includes things for hygiene. We have also given some medicines, tabs for water treatment among other things.”
She noted that in such kind of environment it is very important that to take care of water and sanitation and also protect them from diseases like cholera kits among others.
“We also saw that there are a lot of new mothers around with their babies, so we are also providing health care, immunization and treatment.
“We are working closely with other partners like the Red Cross, IOM and with the government as well to ensure that we ease the suffering of the IDPs. For us we are here to stay. We have been in the state before and now after the crisis and so we would ensure that we work with the government and with other partners in the camp to ensure that these items are used for the displaced people.
“This is going to be a continuous thing to ensure that those who need them get them. We have cholera kits which include soap, hygiene kits, treatment for water like aqua tabs, we also have medicines like antibiotics, pain killers and other health commodities,” she said.
Also speaking, the Health Specialist UNICEF, Dr Ifeyinwa Anyanyo, said UNICEF is supporting in 10 out of the 15 registered IDP camps in the state.
Anyanyo aho described the donation as a fraction of what UNICEF have already been doing
also disclosed that beyond the short-term interventions, UNICEF have plans for the mid term and the long-term recovery efforts and their re- integration into their ancestral homes.
She described the crisis as unfortunate assuring that UNICEF and the partners are committed to working together with the state agencies, the CSOs and local NGOs to mitigate the impact of the crisis.
“We are on ground including and we are all committed to impacting on the lives of the women children that are affected and of course the men of course the men. It’s a cross sectoral response; we have the WASH, we have the child protection, nutrition, education, it’s a holistic support for the state” she added.
Commissioner for Health in the state, Dr Yanmar Ortese, who took delivery of the items, on behalf of the state government, appreciated the UNICEF for the gesture saying “We believe that it will help us to combat so many preventable diseases.
Ortese said “UNICEF is always UNICEF and they always live by their name and on what they normally do for the people. They came swiftly when they heard we have this humanitarian crisis.
“In this place we have old women, children women, pregnant women, people from different backgrounds, all coming in to cluster in one place. You would expect all kinds of diseases like cholera outbreak, problems of under five, diarrhea, malaria and upper respiratory tract infections.
“So they have brought kits to sanitize the water. They also brought antibiotics that will help us in issues like diarrhea diseases and anti malaria for malaria. So it’s such a welcome development and we appreciate their kind gestures.”
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