Starvation Looms At Edo IDPs Camp

Inmates of the Internally Displaced Persons Camps, Uhogua near Benin City, Edo State facing a serious hunger threat as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic has continued to drain food supply chains from donors.

With about 4,000 children and widows currently in the Edo IDP’S Camp, survival now has a different meaning as food and other essentials now come in trickles.

A visit to the International Christian Centre, housing the IDP’s Camp, revealed that residents, including thousands of children struggle daily to adjust to the realities of the COVID-19 world in order to survive.

Over the years, prolonged Boko Haram militant attacks in Nothern Nigeria have forced more than two million people to flee from their ancestral homes.

According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, UNHCR, over 800,000 displaced persons are living in overcrowded Internally Displaced Persons camps across Nigeria.

One of the camps is at the International Christian Centre situated in Uhogua Community, Ovia North East Local Government of Edo State, about 15 kilometres away from city centre.

Over four thousand IDPs including children and women have been taking shelter in this camp since 2014 when the Boko Haram insurgency was at the peak.

Life is apparently not the same anymore for people, but got even worse due to the novel covid-19 pandemic.

But it’s a challenge given that many residents especially children are still used to their old lifestyles. No wonder, some of the children were seen playing football while others clustered with little or no regard for social distancing.

A nurse at the camp, Glory Kuruma who heads the awareness campaign against Coronavirus, said the camp currently needs hand sanitizers and other personal preventive materials for the inmates.

Feeding residents there have increasingly become a difficult task for the administrators. To prepare a meal, 15 bags of rice for instance, are required.

One of the camp supervisors, Pastor Evelyn Omigie, said they have to cut down on an already poor ration due to the drop in supply from donors.

At about 12 noon when food was still on the fire, the children were already standing-by with plates in hands, waiting patiently to be served.

But unfortunately, the ration has reduced due to the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Pastor Omigie said the camp has a crucial need of food, noting that apart from shortage of food, the facilities are overstretched.

The camp health centre lacks basic facilities which hardly cater for the health needs of the displaced persons, let alone if there is an outbreak of coronavirus.

The lack of space and poor sanitary conditions could trigger-off an outbreak of the coronavirus, if not managed properly.

They are appealing to government and well-meaning Nigerians to donate to the camp.

With 15 bags of rice per meal, the camp needs an average of 60 bags if people should eat rice 4 times in a week. This will translates to 240 bags in a month.

200 tubers of yam mixed with beans can only serve for a meal at the camp, meaning that in order to eat yam two times in a week, 400 tubers will be needed. That will amount to an average of 800 tubers in a month.

Urgent intervention is therefore required to prevent a looming hunger and starvation in the camp.

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