Following the large number of women and children directly affected by the flash flood that ravaged 3 Communities in Mokwa Local Government Area of Niger State, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has pledged to do all things possible to attend to their needs.
The UNICEF Water and Sanitation Hygiene (WASH) Specialist, Kaduna Office, Theresa Pamma, said the Organisation is on ground to ensure the people have access to healthcare services and to prevent any form of disease outbreak.
UNICEF, with its mandate to protect Women and Children, were the early responders among the development partners to set up tents at the primary schools used as temporary Internally Displaced Persons’ Camp in Mokwa.
While commiserating with the Government and the people of the State, the UNICEF Water and Sanitation Hygiene (WASH) Specialist, Theresa Pamma assured that they will continue to support the people and do the best to ensure they are safe.
“We are going to support in the area of hygiene and quality water; we will scale up sanitation so that we can curb any form of disease outbreak like cholera”.
She further said, UNICEF will do all it can to ensure that children, most especially, are not abused while in the camps.
Meanwhile, the Niger State Government has commended the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for proactive response and support for the victims.
Deputy Governor, Yakubu Garba, while inspecting the tents put in place and services being rendered to the victims, said the responses and gestures towards the affected persons by UNICEF have further shown that there is hope for the people.
According to him, “On behalf of Governor Umar Bago, I want to commend you (UNICEF) and other Organisations for your interventions and support for our people.
“We will not take this for granted, right from when the incident took place, you were proactive and you are very much on ground. We commend you.”
He therefore urged UNICEF to be patient with the people, while attending to them, saying that most of them are still traumatised and would need some level of psychological support and guidance.
(Editor: Nkoli Omhoudu)
