Ensure your relief items get to all IDPs, NEDC urged

Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in communities hosting government camps in the North-East have appealed to the North East Development Commission (NEDC) to ensure that its relief items get to all of them instead of focusing only on those at the camps.

Their appeal followed the recent donation of food and non-food relief items to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) at Malkohi IDPs camp in Yola by the commission.

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The commission donated items including foodstuff, clothing materials, detergents and sanitisers at the camp in Yola South area.

Presenting the materials to the IDPs, Professor Bobboi Umar, Senior Technical Assistant to the chief executive of NEDC, said personal hygiene consumables were included to help fight the coronavirus pandemic.

He said the commission had donated items worth millions of naira to more than 1000 persons living at the camp and was currently making efforts to reach out to more people affected by the insurgency.

“We’ve brought relief materials, food and non-food items, as well as personal hygiene items to help fight coronavirus: toilet soap, laundry soap, detergents and disinfectants. We are presenting the items through ADSEMA,” he said.

In his remarks, the Executive Secretary, Adamawa state Emergency Management Agency (ADSEMA), Muhammad Sulaiman, commended the donors for responding to the needs of vulnerable groups.

The commission also commenced distribution of relief items to victims of the recent flooding in 11 communities in the state.

However, displaced persons living in communities outside official government camps also called on donors to consider them rather than focusing attention on government designated camps.

Idrisa Abdulllahi, the chairman of IDPs in Malkohi Host Community, a village situated near the government camp, commended the NEDC for their relief efforts while advising the commission to channel more resources to victims of insurgency living on their own in the communities.

“We are also IDPs; in fact we are facing more challenges than those under the care and protection of government camps. We have been here since 2014 when Gwoza was invaded by Boko Haram and Malkohi, our host community, provided a piece of land for us to live on with our families,” he said.

“The assistance we used to enjoy from international organisations and government is no longer coming except on a few occasions. There is hunger in this IDPs village. We need urgent assistance.  We are calling on NEDC and those donors to resume regular distribution to save us,” Idrisa added.