From Okwe Obi, Abuja
The Federal Government and development experts on Thursday brainstormed on how to assuage the sufferings of Internally Displaced Persons IDPs).
In February 2020, President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the constitution of a National Humanitarian Coordination Committee (NHCC) to oversee all humanitarian actions in the country.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, at the 5th National Humanitarian Coordination Technical Working Group, in Abuja, noted that government would always prioritise the wellbeing of IDPs.
Umar Farouq explained that the meeting was to enable experts provide updates on the National Policy on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) after the approval by the Federal Executive Council on 1st September 2021 and the next steps to be taken drive its implementation.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Nasir Sani Gwarzo, she said: “It is a common knowledge that even when humanitarian actions seek to achieve long-term solutions to violence, persecution and displacement, such efforts often were observed to be ignored and less emphasis placed on how those solutions affect or are affected by the overall development programmes of Governments.
“The Plan is presently undergoing internal fine-tuning after which it will be formally presented to harvest members input in preparation for implementation plan.
“You will be receiving further update on the Plan in the course of today’s proceedings.
“There is no denying the fact that there are quite a number of emerging humanitarian issues that requires the attention of the NHCTWG.
“However, considering the urgent need to activate a process of closing the gap in coordination and management of IDPs , this 5th meeting will inter alia focus primarily on updates on National Policy on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) after its approval by Federal Executive Council on 1st September 2021 and the next steps to be taken drive its implementation.
“It is expected that stakeholders would exchange ideas/views and agree on the most robust methodology towards the development of actionable National Action Plan (NAP) for the implementation of the IDP policy.”