June 2, 2018

Houuse of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara on Saturday pledged to support the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Abuja with adequate food supply.

Dogara, who made the pledge in Abuja while flaging off a Medical Outreach and Wellness Initiative Programme at the Karimajiji Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camp, noted that the IDPs needed more support.

He assured them that he would work closely with the Committee on IDPs to ensure that some of their needs such as school, hospital and feeding, were met.

He, however, noted that it was the responsibility of the Federal Government to meet and solve most of the challenges facing the IDPs.

”I will work hand in hand with the Committee on IDPs to ensure enough supply of food item.

“We will work with FCT to ensure the IDP children go back to school and if there is no school, one will be built,” he said.

The Secretary, Directorate of Health Services, National Assembly, Dr Eme Moma-Efretuei, said that the wellness intervention initiative programe was designed to assess the disease burden of the displaced persons communities.

Moma-Efretuei said that the programme was also aimed at offering rapid intervention to mitigate the effects of the conditions and to proffer disease management strategies.

According to her the targets set by the United Nations to end diseases such as HIV are slowly being eroded if the impact of insurgencies ae not tackled.

”The targets to end AIDS stipulates that 90 per cent of persons living with HIV would know their status by 2020 and 90 per cent of those diagnosed with HIV would receive antiretroviral therapy and 90 per cent of those receiving treatment would be virally suppressed.

Moma-Efretuei said that this imitative would form the bedrock on which future interventions would lie.

The FCT Regional Manager, Institute of Human Virology, Nigeria, Dr Olayemi Olupitan, urged the Nigerian government to intensify efforts and awareness on HIV testing and treatment.

Olupitan added that UNAIDS had reached advanced stage in its trategy to end AIDS epidemic by 2030 in Nigeria

She added that the Institute of Human Virology, Nigeria, was collaborating with the National Assembly and Methodist Church to provide free medical services to the residents of Karimajiji IDPs.

The Chairman, Karimajiji IDP camp, Mohammed Abubarka called on the Federal Government to support the IDPs to return to their homes.

Abubarka said that the suffering was too much and it would be appreciated if they could go back home.

”We want to go back home, we want to go back to farming and working, there is no place like home, we are not happy here.

”We have no food, hospital or school, we are suffering and we need help, we have been here for over three years,” he said.