ETIM EFFIONG
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has provided shelter and pipe-borne water for refugees who fled southern Cameroon owing to prolonged armed conflict between the Anglophone and Francophone regions.
ICRC Communication’s Officer in Nigeria, Mr Robin Waodo said this on Thursday during a one-day workshop on humanitarian reporting for some journalists in Uyo.
Waodo who added that ICRC intervenes in conflict-ravaged areas to give assistance to crisis victims, said the influx of refugees in Akwa Ibom state, made ICRC to provide water and shelter for the victims to cushion the effect of the disaster and provide better living conditions for them.
He said: “ICRC go to States that have higher needs. In South-South here, we have a lot of refugees coming from Cameroon and that is why we work in the South-South of the country.
“We have assisted them in building shelters, providing water and sanitation. Even in Okobo where their water facility was destroyed, we were able to restore it and added extra two boreholes.”
Waodo charged journalists to ensure that issues on the welfare of victims of conflict or crisis situations are adequately highlighted in their reportage to draw the attention of those in authority to the plight of the victims as they were those most affected in times of crisis.
He further called on journalists to understand the cause(s) of conflict before reporting it to have a full grasp of the report.
Also speaking, ICRC Communication Field Officer in Port Harcourt, Ms Sophie Uduma described ICRC as a neutral and independent humanitarian organisation, saddled with the mandate to protect and assist victims of armed conflict as well as other situations of violence.
Uduma called for support and cooperation for the organisation, saying that ICRC has given palliatives to crisis-stricken communities of Mbo, Oruk Anam, Essien Udim local government areas.
She added that the organisation is poised to do more in other communities.
On his part, Branch Secretary of Red Cross in Akwa Ibom State, Mr Iniama Okoroudo said the organisation was poised to serve humanity in all ramifications.
Speaking of the organisation’s achievement in Uyo, he said, “Red Cross has provided non-food and food items to people at the IDP camp in Essien Udim which was occasioned by unknown gunmen who attacked government structures facilities. A lot of buildings were burnt, and many people displaced.”