The United Nations (UN) Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Mathias Shemale has expressed concern over the humanitarian crisis in Benue state saying it is worse than the situation in Borno State.
Shemale made the observation when he led a delegation on a courtesy call on Governor Hyacinth Alia in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.
The Resident Coordinator assured of providing immediate humanitarian needs for the Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, in the state while also looking at ways of ensuring the return of the displaced persons to their ancestral homes.
He urged the State government to outline its development agenda for the United Nations to intervene, assuring that since the global organisation was good at conflict resolution, it could equally trace the root causes of the herder/farmer clashes and bring about lasting solutions to the crisis.
Responding, Governor Alia acknowledged the role of the UN in working to make a better world, noting its effort in maintaining global peace, security and eradicating poverty through sustainable goals.
The Governor disclosed that the State was facing a humanitarian crisis, with 34,000 households, or an equivalent of over two million IDPs, residing in camps and host communities in parts of the State. He said the State was already working out a resettlement plan for the IDPs, and taking steps to tackle youth unemployment, hunger and child malnutrition and sued for the support of the global organisation.
The Governor requested the UN to make Benue State as its hub, calling for more support from the organisation in the areas of healthcare delivery and training of medical personnel in the State, provision of modern agriculture inputs and machineries to enable Benue return to the map as the food basket of the nation, as well as the empowerment of women in the State with relevant skills that would enable them become self-reliant.
