Malnutrition at IDP camps: Senate urges FG to release money

WORRIED at the high rate of malnutrition at the internally displaced persons (IDP) camps across the country, the Senate, on Wednesday, urged the Federal Government to, as a matter of urgency, release money to the affected place from the Victims Support Fund, in order to curtail the situation.

The lawmakers equally tasked the government on the need to raise funds from the private sector, with a view to supplementing the money from the T.Y. Danjuma-led Presidential Victims Support Fund.

The Senate also urged the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Finance, to immediately release necessary funds to arrest the developing situation, by freeing up a strategic framework for the release and distribution of money from the service wide vote appropriated for lDPs in the 2016 budget.

Consequent upon this, it directed its Committee on Special Duties, States and Local Governments to carry out a fact finding visit to the troubled states like Adamawa, Borno and Yobe to find out the challenges facing the lDPs.

This was sequel to the motion sponsored by Senator Baba Kaka Garbai, entitled: “Challenges of food security and malnutrition of children in the IDP.”

Senator Garbai, in the motion, explained that he was moved to bring up the issue before the legislature because of alarming report by UNICEF that between January and May 2016, it admitted and treated 47,423 children from three states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe of acute malnutrition under the same period.

According to him, the report had indicated that it would take just about $349.9 million to adequately provide the affected population with basic living condition for at least three months.

The Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, urged those who pledged assistance to the victims support fund project to redeem their pledge, so as to solve the problems of malnutrition confronting the IDPs across the country.