Audio Attached: UN applauds Nigeria for easing up delivery of relief materials to IDPs
NAN-F-41
Commendation
By Prudence Arobani
New York, Jan. 25, 2017 (NAN) The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Sahel has applauded Nigeria for facilitating aid delivery to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the North East.
The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel, Mr Toby Lanzer, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in New York that the Nigerian government has been responsive.
Cue in audio 1 (Lanzer)
“Congratulations to the authorities in Nigeria, who have been facilitating the work of non-governmental organisations and UN agencies across Adamawa, Yobe, and Borno states.
“Really, whether it is facilitating the work of aid agencies by helping with visas or helping with clearing goods through customs or any of the other multiple challenges, which exist in the settings, I think that the Nigerian authorities have been very very attentive.
“So that would be work in progress; I think that the Nigerian authorities have been very attentive in this regard.
“There are series of measures that have to be taken for an aid operation to work and often it is difficult because you are working in areas of a country that can be insecure.
“You are working in places where the logistics challenge can be great.
“For example, I know that there was a moment just before Christmas when it was difficult to get Jet-A1 fuel up to Maiduguri and of course that has an impact on the ability of the United Nations to fly its aircrafts.
“But these are problems that exist in all aid settings and the key is to overcome them and in that regard, I think the Nigerian authorities have done their very best.”
Cue out audio 1
The UN assistant secretary-general explained that due to the logistics support from the Nigerian authorities, aid agencies had been able to reach more survivors of insurgency with relief materials.
Cue in audio 2 (Lanzer)
“Let me just underline the extent to which the Nigerian authorities at the Federal and the local level have been facilitating the work of NGOs and UN agencies.
“I’ve worked in many parts of the world, where there are difficulties.
“Aid workers find it hard to get visas, Non-governmental organisations can find it difficult to be registered, clearing goods through customs becomes hard, tax exemptions are absent – we have felt very little of that in Nigeria
“And I want to salute the authorities of Nigeria for having accepted, welcomed and facilitated the work of the aid agencies working across the Northeast of the country.
“But, is it seamless? No! Of course there are ways that improvements can be made that when I compare this setting with others where I’ve been, we (aid agencies) have been supported in all of the key ways to be able to reach communities, people in desperate need of assistance across the Northeast of Nigeria.”
Cue out audio 2 (NAN)
APT/OSA/YEE
Edited by Shittu Obassa/Emmanuel Yashim
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