The Victims Support Fund (VSF) Task Force on COVID-19 has donated food items and Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) worth N72 million to the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI) and National Council of Women’s Societies (NCWS).
Items donated are bags of rice, beans, salt and maize, vegetable oil, face mask, hand sanitiser, hygiene Kits and blankets for Children.
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The Task Force on COVID 19 is an emergency response team inaugurated by the Chairman of the Victims Support Fund, Gen TY Danjuma (rtd) to provide palliative measures to Internally Displaced Persons and the vulnerable as well as provide institutional support to government agencies supporting the national effort to fight COVID-19.
It had carried out the first and second phases of the COVID-19 intervention in April and June 2020 respectively.
While handing over the items to the NCFRMI and NCWS in separate occasions, the Chairperson of the task force, Mrs Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji, said items worth N1 billion were being distributed in the third phase of its COVID-19 intervention.
According to her, this phase covers states in the Northwest, North central and some selected government and non-governmental institutions.
She said items worth N110, 452, N971, 130, N348,722, N107, 900, 000, N97,167,684, N107, 900, 000, N107, 900, 000 and N119,850,033 were being donated to Kano, Kaduna, Zamfara, Katsina, Benue, Niger and Plateau respectively.
“The VSF COVID-19 Task Force, in continuation of its mandate, will distribute rice, beans, maize, vegetable oil, salt, and Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) to 40,886 households and approximately 204,330 direct beneficiaries across Kano, Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, Niger, Plateau, Benue and agencies in the FCT.
“The state governments will receive fifty percent (50%) of the food items while local Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) will distribute 50% directly to IDPs and vulnerable people,” according to Mrs Akerele-Ogunsiji.
She said the task force was moving from just providing food items to now adding non food items.
“54 schools in 18 states will get solar-powered boreholes, 2000 face masks each, washing hand materials amongst others. This will be commissioned in December this year.
“We are supporting the NYSC with 60,000 test kits as they are reopening the orientation camps. This is because we believe that ramping up testing is important in the fight against COVID-19,” she added.
Speaking separately after receiving the items, the NCFRMI’s Deputy Director and head of IDPs who represented the Federal Commissioner, Fatima Daura and NCWS’s President, Gloria Labara Shoda, commended the VSF for the gesture.
While asking for continuous collaboration, they assured that the materials will get to the targeted population.
