Ambassador Usman Sarki
Ambassador Usman Sarki, Representative of the Nigeria’s Mission to the UN, on Thursday called on the international community to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to Nigeria to mitigate the impact on the terrorist activities.
Sarki made the call in New York during a side-event on internally displaced persons in north-eastern Nigeria, as part of the 49th Session of the Commission on Population and Development.
NAN reports that the event was organised by Nigeria’s Mission to the UN, National Population Commission and the support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
He also called for support to the Federal government in implementing the Presidential Initiative for the North East.
Sarki said that the initiative, sought to develop a framework to combine efforts of the federal government to revitalise the economy of the North East of Nigeria and leverage on the activities of the states and local governments.
He said that President Muhammadu Buhari was committed to tackling the economic challenges facing the region, following terrorist activities in the area.
Sarki also assured the international community of that Nigeria has made amazing progress against terrorism since President Buhari assumed office.
“The President has made very significant progress towards ending the Boko Haram insurgency since his assumption of office on May 29, 2015.
“The federal government in collaboration with the Multinational Joint Task Force, the Nigerian Armed Forces have driven the terrorist group from Nigerian territory.
“They are currently not holding any territory today as we speak, ” he told partcipants at the side-event.
Sarki also called for global support for the President as he persistently pursues global action to reverse the drying up of Lake Chad and save the lives of those who depend on it for survival.
Also speaking, Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of UNFPA, said the agency would continue to provide psychosocial and medical support to those displaced by the insurgency.
Osotimehin, said, so far, UNFPA has helped no fewer than 6.2 million people affected by the crisi in the north-east caused by the Boko Haram insurgency.
The humanitarian response, he added, included providing more than 1.1 million women with sexual and reproductive health care and helping more than 63,000 women deliver babies safely.
He said that the agency had also provided psychosocial counselling to more than 27,000 gender-based violence survivors and their family members to deal with the trauma of captivity.
The agency, he said, distributed the items through funds from the Government and People of the United States of America through USAID, Japan.
“I assure you that UNFPA, the Nigerian authorities and other partners are ready and eager to support these women and girls, who have been affected by this crisis”
Also speaking, Chairman of NPC, Eze Duruiheoma, said that there were currently over 1.5 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), largely due to communal conflicts and insurgency in the North East.
He said that another 167,789 Nigerians have also fled the North-East insurgency to take refuge in the neighbouring countries of Niger, Chad and Cameroon.
Duruiheoma, called on development partners to assist Nigeria in her efforts at caring for the wellbeing of the most vulnerable at the camps, especially children, women and the elderly.
Insurgency: Nigeria needs urgent help, Envoy says
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