North East: FG awards victims of Humanitarian Response

North East: FG awards victims of Humanitarian Response
The Federal government has recognised and given post humours awards to about 74 persons including representatives of organisations and persons who paid the ultimate price of death while carrying out humanitarian response activities in North East, Nigeria, in the last decade.

The event was the highlight of activities at the National Health Humanitarian Response Dialogue, held today, in Abuja. The theme of the Dialogue was: The Role of the Health Sector in Humanitarian crisis.

Presenting the awards to representatives of the victims, the Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Professor Yemi Osinbajo said that the huge number of victims honoured indicated the gravity of the lost witnessed in the country over the decade, due to insurgency.

The Vice President, who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha, reassured that the Federal Government was working tirelessly to ensure that all policies regarding the security of lives and properties of all Nigerians saw the light of the day.

Professor Osinbajo maintained that the ‘’Dialogue’’ was in tandem with one of the cardinal objectives of the Federal Government which was to provide quality healthcare services to all Nigerians, where and when needed.

Osinbajo added that the anti-corruption activities of the Federal Government had contributed to changing the face of humanitarian response with high positive impact.

He commended the conveners of the Dialogue which he said, was a veritable platform to showcase intervention efforts of government, towards the crisis that engulfed the country.

He however condoled with the families of those who lost their lives during the “needless crisis that engulfed the country resulting in such irreparable lost.

Charting the way forward, the Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole in his address said that the Borno State (North East) situation had served as a case study from which lessons learnt were envisaged to assist the country in developing a health sector Humanitarian Response System.

Adewole stated that the Dialogue would provide an effective and equitable response hinged on the New way of working; the Humanitarian Development Peace Nexus (HDPN).

Participants were therefore expected to arrive at a consensus for the best modalities towards developing a systematic approach for health sector response to humanitarian crisis as well as provide deliberate next steps for contextualization of the Nigerian Humanitarian response architecture.

Professor Adewole appreciated some stakeholders who were instrumental and supportive to the intervention project, such as, the Borno State Government, headed by His Excellency, Alhaji Kashim Ibrahim, the Nigerian Senate, WHO, UNICEF, the Presidential Committee on the North East Initiative (PCIN) and its leader, Lt. Gen. T. Y. Danjuma.

Also speaking at the occasion, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Senator Lanre Tejuosho, regretted that Nigeria had about 2.5million malnourished children.. As such, Nigeria needed special intervention to feed them.

In view of this, he advised the Federal Ministry of health to consider giving waivers to interested individuals and organisations who would want to support with Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) in those States in critical need..

In his welcome remarks, earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Health, Mr. Abdullaziz Mashi Abdullahi, charged participants at the Dialogue to prioritise expected outcomes that were specific to health humanitarian crisis, especially, as it concerned the North East.

He also urged them to use the opportunity to re-energise their commitments towards the achievement of health response in humanitarian crisis in Nigeria as a whole.This, he opined, would contribute to the present Government’s sustainable growth and development towards a productive Nigeria.

Dignitaries at the occasion were: The Minister of State for Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, immediate past Permanent Secretary, Health, Hajia Binta Bello, Representatives of the Executive Governor of Borno State, Minister of Budget and National Planning, World Health Organisation, PCNI, University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), among others.

Boade Akinola,

Director, Media and Public Relations,