The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) visited the Ortese Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camp on Monday and donated Mama kits to pregnant women to mark World Humanitarian Day 2024.
The Chief of Office, Juliet Chiluwe, stated that the distribution of over 3,000 Mama kits to pregnant women at the Ortese camp was to commemorate World Humanitarian Day.
She noted that UNICEF had provided a series of interventions, including solar motorized boreholes and immunization for about 20,000 people in their areas of intervention.
She added that distributing Mama kits to pregnant women was aimed at easing their burden.
She said, “Today is World Humanitarian Day, which is very significant. To recognize the importance of this day, we are in Benue to partner with the state government in alleviating the suffering of vulnerable children and women.
“UNICEF has been in Benue State for over a decade, and we remain committed to strengthening our partnership with other UN agencies to ensure that the rights of children and women are protected.
“UNICEF has played a key role in ensuring that children are immunized. Since January, we have supported over 20,000 people across various states. We have also provided over 3,000 Mama kits to support childbirth and have facilitated access to clean water and solar motorized boreholes for IDPs.”
“We are also working to ensure that every child is registered. We are partnering with the state to ensure that children born in IDP camps are registered through our birth registration initiatives and that they do not miss out on school registration.”
Chiluwe added that significant improvements have been noted in vaccine demand and a reduction in malnutrition among children. She said, “We have seen many positive changes.
Through awareness sessions, women are now more likely to breastfeed their children. The number of severely malnourished children has diminished significantly.”
While expressing appreciation to the state governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, for creating an enabling environment for donor partners to operate in the state, the Chief of Office described the security of aid workers as a major challenge.
Earlier, officials from the state government and other donor partner agencies participated in a walk from the government house to the state assembly as part of the World Humanitarian Day activities.
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The State Commissioner for Humanitarian and Disaster Management, Aondowase Kunde, urged the Speaker of the State Assembly, Hyacinth Dajoh, to help domesticate the Durable Solutions Act.
The Commissioner lamented that 591 aid workers were victims of attacks in 2023 alone, adding that Nigeria has not been insulated from this issue.
He said, “Mr. Speaker, several of our colleagues have been killed, maimed, kidnapped, or violated in the course of their humanitarian work, especially in the North East Region of Nigeria.
“World Humanitarian Day is an opportunity to recognize the sacrifices and contributions of humanitarian workers who risk their lives to assist others. It’s a day to advocate for the safety and security of aid workers and to highlight the importance of humanitarian efforts in alleviating suffering.”
Kunde praised UNICEF for its support in healthcare delivery, noting that the organization is providing assistance in nine IDP camps across the state.
The Speaker, represented by the Majority Leader of the State Assembly, Sateer Titseer, assured the donor partners of the assembly’s readiness to support efforts in alleviating humanitarian needs in the state.
One of the beneficiaries, a pregnant woman at the Ortese IDP camp named Angela Adagbe, expressed gratitude for the Mama kits donation, saying, “This has greatly alleviated the trouble of finding money to buy the kits because this pack is worth N10,000.”
