By Aliyu Dangida
HOTPEN – Jigawa state government has received a whopping N230million from UNICEF and some other international development partners as a flood emergency response to flood victims in the state.
The UNICEF field officer, Kano field office Mr. Rahama Rihiod Mohammed Farah, while presenting the items to the state governor, Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, said the response is on Health, Education, Nutrition and Children protection.
The field officer represented by the UNICEF senior education manager, Mr Michael Banda revealed that “Today’s presentation of supplies is in line with the foregoing UNICEF’s response plan to the Jigawa Flooding Emergency which includes 200 pieces of solar Radios, assorted items for psycho-social support, recreational materials as parts of psychosocial support”.
Mr. Rahama Rihiod explained that UNICEF, government and development partners were provided with an opportunity to conduct an assessment of the flood emergency in the state during their previous visit.
The UNICEF field officer explained that 25 IDP camps and 2 communities were covered during the assessment, which overall situation as observed, has confirmed the devastating impact the floods had on communities, mentioning that the assessment revealed that a significant proportion of the affected population has returned to their communities.
The senior education manager maintained that the assessment shows that children and women have been mostly affected by the flooding.
Mr. Michael while noting that malaria, catarrh, and diarrhoea are the most predominant health challenges facing the IDPs, he added that basic needs such as food and shelter are not fully meeting the needs of the IDPs