By Ndidi Chukwu
The United Nations has expressed worry over poor waste management in Internally Displace Persons (IDPs) camp in Borno State, which may expose the IDPs to more diseases.
The call was made by UN Assistant Secretary General and Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel, Toby Lanzer, during a visit to rural communities in the state.
Mr. Lanzer said he observed that the suffering of some 30,000 people in Bama was as acute, adding that the UN agencies and non-governmental organisations are increasing their footprint in
the state and the UN has now reached people struck by crisis in rural parts of the region.
According to him the full extent of the agony inflicted on the people of the Lake Chad Basin as a result of the violence is still unknown, but as towns such as Bama open to aid agencies,
the absolute destruction Boko Haram has left in its wake is becoming clearer.
“Inter-agency teams are currently assessing more hard-to-reach parts of the state. We are increasingly emphasizing the relief-development nexus in a region that suffered from historical underdevelopment,” the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, Ms Fatma Samoura explained.
Lanzer said: “Solid waste management and livelihoods are two of the most glaring needs in Maiduguri despite the strong efforts of the State authorities. He said as the rainy season approaches, a failure to manage waste will result in a public health crisis and exacerbate human suffering; at the same time, providing the youth vocational training is the right thing to do today, and can help prevent a deeper crisis emerging tomorrow,”
The international humanitarian agencies operating in Nigeria plans to provide aid to people in the North-East of Nigeria at a cost of $248 million for 2016, yet is only 12 per cent funded.
