Simon Ogunde, Yenagoa
The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has donated over N56 million worth of health-related relief materials to cushion the effects of the 2022 floods in Bayelsa State.
Head, Port Harcourt Field Office of UNICEF, Dr Anslem Audu, presented the relief items to the Commissioner for Health, Dr Pabara Newton Igwele, in Yenagoa.
Audu stated that UNICEF made the donations to the state following available data that specified the state as the worst hit by the ravaging floods among affected states within its Port Harcourt Field Office.
According to him, following the height of the devastating floods, UNICEF had deemed it fit in partnering with the state to ameliorate its health effects on children and other citizens of the state.
He said the organisation also found it necessary to support the state through the provision of anti-malaria and typhoid drugs as well as other pharmaceutical products.
He reiterated that UNICEF also knew the floods have adverse consequences on the living standards of the citizens and had therefore included other relief materials such as diapers for children and vulnerable adults, foot wears, mattresses, and sanitary pads, among others to the donations it made to the state.
Audu said: “UNICEF knows that there will be post-flood health challenges and illnesses, so we’ve donated anti-malaria, antibiotics, anti-diarrhoea and other drugs to the state.
“But we also have added other relief materials, such as rubber foot wears, diapers and sanitary pads to the donations.
“The sum total of the donations made by UNICEF to Bayelsa state is N56m, including the amount spent on logistics. We would not end with these items alone. We would partner with the state in the area of post-flood modalities towards mitigating the impact of floods on victims across the state.
“We’ve four states in our Port Harcourt area office. They’re Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Delta states. The relief materials we donated today include drugs, foot wears, insecticide-treated nets, detergents, soaps and toiletries, as well as sanitary wear, among others.”
Receiving the donations on behalf of the state government, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Pabara Newton Igwele lauded UNICEF for their gesture.
Igwele noted that UNICEF was the first international body to have made donations to help the state mitigate the impact of the flood.
He restated the state’s continuous resolve to partner with the UN children fund.
The Commissioner who also thanked UNICEF for their post-flood plan which is aimed at further supporting the state reiterated that the floods had dealt severely with the state and its citizens.
Igwele described the UN children fund as a worthy and progressive partner.
He said: “Even as we try to manage ourselves as Bayelsans in government positions, I could imagine what this flood has caused to the lives of those who don’t have any tangible means of survival.
“Imagine what the floods have caused the state and our health facilities. Imagine the plights of children and vulnerable students, who would be struggling to save their lives and learn materials.
I thank UNICEF for this gesture. You’re the first international body to have made donations of this magnitude to help the state cushion the impact of the floods.”