By Isaac Kertyo, Makurdi
A non governmental organization, UCARE Nigeria in partnership with ECOWAS Peace Fund has provided free healthcare services, borehole and toilet facilities for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), Ichwa camp North Bank, Makurdi, to reduce their hardship.
The Team Leader and Program Officer, UCARE Nigeria, Doofan Daga, while briefing Journalists during the event, explained that the organization which is sponsored by the ECOWAS Peace Fund is to carry out humanitarian services in IDP camps in Makurdi Local Government Area of Benue State.
The Program Officer, maintained that UCARE Nigeria, which is a community based health care assistance to Internally Displaced Persons and host communities in Benue State and Nigeria at large, is to address humanitarian crises in three IDP camps in the state.
“Under this umbrella, ECOWAS Peace Fund is supporting UCARE Nigeria to carry out this humanitarian services in IDP camps. We are currently working in three IDP camps in Makurdi. We have implemented quite a number of projects here. We have built a solarized borehole and a block of toilet facilities. Today we are commissioning a borehole project, we are carrying out a free health outreach for the IDPs.
“Most of them have some health challenges, under five years, we will give them free ready to use therapeutic foods (Tom Brown), for the pregnant women we will be giving kites for their delivery, and for adolescent and girls, we will give them hygiene kites to support them. Other people who have health challenges will equally be supported, we have health care team to attend to them. UCARE Nigeria is to attend to about 300 IDPs in this camp”, she stated.
According to the team leader, investigation has shown that malnutrition is one of the major health challenges bedeviling the IDPs due to shortage of food, stressing that the organization brought Tom Brown to support the children in the area of feeding because they are malnourished. She also identified malaria as another health challenge the IDPs are facing, asserting that mosquito nets have been made available which will be given to households for prevention of malaria.
The Executive Secretary, Benue State Primary Health Care Board, Mrs Ashi Wende, who spoke to Newsmen on behalf of government shortly after commissioning the solarized borehole, lauded ECOWAS Peace Fund and UCARE Nigeria for partnering with the board, which she said is saddled with the responsibility to provide basic health care services for the IDPs in the state.
Her words: “We have this humanitarian crises since 2017, this organization has partnered with us and the partnership has yielded positive results. Today they have supported this camp with clean water, free medical outreach. I am happy that members of the host community are also participating in their free healthcare outreach.”
Also speaking, the representative of Benue State Emergency Management Agency, BSEMA, and camp Manager, Mrs Apaa Msurshima, applauded UCARE Nigeria and ECOWAS Peace Fund, for supporting the IDPs in Ichwa camp with toilet facilities, borehole and free healthcare services. She assured that measures have been put in place to ensure that the facilities provided are adequately taken care of.
Responding on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mrs Abunya Benedicta, who spoke on behalf of the IDPs in the camp, equally commended UCARE Nigeria in collaboration with ECOWAS Peace Fund for responding to their challenges. “We are so excited to receive this kind of medical outreach. We appeal to government to empower us and make adequate preparation for our return back to our ancestral homes.”
