The Federal Government is planning to establish a fora to aid coordination of humanitarian activities and enhance accessibility to crisis victims in the North East.
The fora to be established at both federal and state levels will also liaise with appropriate Ministries, Departments and Agencies to ensure the conduct of seamless humanitarian activities.
Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Farouq, who disclosed this in a statement on Monday in Abuja, said that the inability to access crisis victims was a source of concern to the government.
The statement signed by her Special Assistant on Media, Mrs. Nneka Anibeze, noted that the safety of aid workers in the North East was also factor against the seamless conduct of relief delivery to beneficiaries in the region.
She said: “The Technical Working Group is to develop a framework that we all have to key into as humanitarian actors, including security operatives, so that we have a seamless working relationship.
“Our work is augmentative because we all need each other to carry out this mandate effectively.
“To this end, the ministry is to establish a fora at National and State levels to coordinate humanitarian activities in the North East.
“It will also liaise with appropriate Ministries, Departments and Agencies to ensure the conduct of seamless humanitarian activities.”
The minister said that the ministry would also serve as a one-stop-shop that addresses operational needs of various stakeholders and conduct periodic field visits to the North East.
She further explained that the ministry would receive monthly reports of humanitarian activities through the Office of the Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
READ ALSO : Trikytee Emerges Head Of House, Picks Laycon As Deputy
The statement quoted the minister as saying that relief materials would still be delivered to inaccessible locations when identified in spite of the challenges.
“The areas that can be reached by road will have the military support us while those inaccessible locations will have air drop-offs by the Air Force.
“So, we all have to work together with the States, military, UN, INGOs, NEMA, SEMA and others to ensure safe delivery of these humanitarian aid to beneficiaries,” Farouq said.
