Benue govt to improve security, water supply in IDPs’ camps – Commissioner

Benue State Government has said it would improve security, health, water and other facilities in to various Internally Displaced Persons camp (IDP), across the state as they await final return to their ancestral homes.

State Commissioner for Humanitarian and Disaster Management, Aondowase Kunde, disclosed this during the presentation of the framework for the Benue State strategy for durable solutions to internal displacement by members of Benue State task-force committee on durable solutions.

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Kunde, who is also the Chairman, Task Force on Durable Solutions to return the IDPs to Benue State, stated that already, a survey has been carried out to provide hand dug wells at Ortese IDP Camp in Guma LGA where drilling of boreholes could not yield water.

He told IDPs in the state that Governor Hyacinth Alia was not sleeping over their plights but is working towards proactive measures that would proffer solutions to their problems.

While acknowledging their concerns over insecurity and lack of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities in the camps, Kunde restated government’s commitment to ensuring that armed herdsmen leave the state to enable them return to their ancestral homes.

He also promised that the state government through the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) would continue to provide them food and other supplies pending their return.

Earlier, the UNDP representative on Durable Solutions in Benue State, Adewole Oke, commended the efforts of Governor Hyacinth Alia administration in improving the conditions of IDPs in the state.

Oke acknowledged Robert Piper, the secretary and special adviser on solutions to internal displacement and the Benue State task-force committee on durable solutions for their collaboration and contributions to the task given to them by Governor Alia.

He said that the product of their work represents a fundamental step forward in the implementation of the recommendations of the framework designed on the need for a more developmental approach to resolving internal displacement in Benue state.

“Through a combined effort of UN agencies, UNDP, UNHCR, IOM, UNICEF, we looked at the socio economic impact of internal displacement and framework designed on the need for a more developmental approach to resolving internal displacement in Benue State.

“We also looked at the socio economic impact of internal displacement and its effect on affected communities.”

Oke observed that IDPs in Benue, Borno, Yobe and Adamawa have doubled over the past couple of years, affecting women, the youth and marginalised groups.

“This has affected children going to school, men who tend to feed their families and women who strive to make their home peaceful.

“We are not just going to stop at interventions without addressing root causes. Internal displacement requires, long term, integrated and gender responsive development solutions, and through a human development approach, we propose to renew and create a synergy between displaced citizens and the state,” he noted.

The UNDP representative further pledged that restoring the human security and dignity will be at the heart of rebuilding a prosperous and safer Benue State.

Meanwhile, the IDPs who spoke at the event called on the federal and state government to come to their aid as they complained of hunger, lack of water, adequate shelter, health and other facilities.