16:04 21/05/2015
Abuja - The President of the International Committee of the Red
Cross (ICRC), Peter Maurer, has called on the international community
and other humanitarian organizations to do more to address the
consequences of the humanitarian crisis in the Lake Chad region.
Maurer is on his first official visit to Nigeria.
After
visiting the north-eastern city of Maiduguri, at the epicentre of
fighting between Boko Haram and the Nigerian army, the ICRC president
expressed alarm at the scale of the humanitarian needs and the mental
and physical scars the violence is leaving on the population.
“Whole
communities have fled their villages and endured unimaginable
suffering. Traumatized people, without homes, belongings, income and
education for their children – what does the future hold for them? They
need support far beyond what the ICRC can provide, yet in many hard-hit
places we find ourselves alone. This is a big problem that is not going
anywhere, and it demands serious attention,” said Maurer.
He noted that the conflict had spread beyond Nigeria’s borders into neighbouring Chad, Cameroon and Niger.
An estimated 1,5 million people have been displaced, mostly within Nigeria itself.
Maurer warned that were no quick fixes.
“Even
if the fighting stops tomorrow, it will take years of investment and
painstaking work to rebuild livelihoods and services, overcome the
trauma and find some sense of normality.”
No comments:
Post a Comment