By Emmanuel
Udom
International
Organization for Immigration, (IOM) is targeting to assist the Nigerian government in supporting some
2.4million people displaced by the Boko Haram terrorist in north-eastern states
of the country.
The
reason for the support is obvious, considering the reality that in the last ten
years, an estimated 20,000 persons have been allegedly killed, thousands maimed and properties destroyed at Bornu,
Adamawa, Yobe, and Bauchi states, following the onset of insurgency in Nigeria.
Ikechukwu Hillarion Attah,
communication assistant for IOM- Abuja, in a press statement stated that
through its displacement
tracking matrix (DTM), “IOM is conducting assessments of the number of
internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the area and their needs to inform the
humanitarian response of the government and the international community”.
According to Attah, Borno,
the state worst hit by the terrorists has the IOM teams currently working in 15
previously inaccessible local government areas and 86 wards and hope to access
other badly affected areas, which the data emerging clearly shows very high
levels of humanitarian need.
Checks by our correspondent reveal that the
DTM report for February 2016 identified 1,434,149 internally displaced persons
out of a total of 2.4 million in Bornu state, north-east Nigeria.
But, Attah further disclosed that as part of the DTM
program, IOM is conducting biometric registration of IDPs in Adamawa and Borno
states, as well as in Yobe state, where it is supporting the UN World Food
Programme’s cash transfer program.
As of the end of March 2016, a total of 124,827 individuals –
98,209 in Borno and 26,618 in Yola – have been biometrically registered. The
vast majority of IDPs who have been registered live in host communities, where
little or no assistance has been provided due to lack of humanitarian access
and security concerns.
IOM Nigeria Chief of Mission Enira
Krdzalic said: “In support of the National Emergency Management Agency, IOM is
systematically collecting data on the humanitarian crisis in northeast Nigeria
and neighboring countries.
The data clearly shows the massive scale
of the emergency and urgent humanitarian needs. IOM is working with the
government and partners to provide humanitarian assistance to IDPs and other
affected populations, but the scale of the problem far exceeds available
resources.”
In
addition to DTM and registration, IOM is providing shelter, camp management,
psychosocial support, livelihoods and other services to IDPs and affected
populations.
At a
workshop organized by IOM on Thursday 14th April 2016 in Abuja, National
Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Director General Muhammad Sidi said: “The contribution of
IOM towards addressing the humanitarian consequences of the insurgency in the
North East is quite profound and deserves special mention.
In terms of physical assistance, IOM has
supported the NEMA Situation Room, NEMA Gombe Operations Office, the NEMA Borno
Zonal Office, and several State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs) with
office equipment to assist their field officers towards easy access to DTM
data.”
There are now seven million people in need of humanitarian
assistance in Nigeria, including 1.9 million displaced by the insurgency. Some
92 percent of the IDPs are hosted by low-income host communities, bringing already-stretched
services and resources under increased pressure.
IOM is calling for more donor support, as well as deeper
collaboration among humanitarian actors for effective coordination of
humanitarian assistance to the affected population.
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