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Environment

IOM rehabilitates 2 boreholes in Borno communities

 Boreholes
By Tosin Kolade
Abuja, April 10, 2019 (NAN) The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has completed the rehabilitation of two boreholes in Gwoza and Konduga to improve access to potable water for communities’ affected by conflicts in Borno.

 

This is part of initiatives funded by the Republic of Korea to revitalise these communities by ensuring that people affected by conflicts returned to safe and dignified living conditions.

 

Lee In-tae, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Nigeria in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja, said that in 2018, Korea donated 7.5 million dollars to support women and girls in Borno as part of efforts to tackling humanitarian needs.

 

He said that the Korean government would continue to strengthen efforts by providing support to vulnerable people, especially women and girls, continuing capacity-building of government officials, and promoting education and health of Nigerian youth.

 

According to him, the rehabilitation project has improved the access to water for 13,500 individuals voluntarily returning to their communities of origin.

“Access to clean water in these areas of return has been achieved through the drilling, installation, maintenance and rehabilitation of boreholes, all of which are powered by solar energy.

 

“The Korean government will continue to strengthen efforts by providing support to vulnerable people, especially women and girls, continuing capacity-building of government officials, and promoting education and health of Nigerian youths,” he added.

 

Dave Bercasio, IOM Nigeria Head of Sub-office, said that the intervention was aimed at improving access to community infrastructure and basic services and also ensure that these rehabilitation activities were sustainable.

 

“That is why we are engaging the beneficiaries by forming community-based water, sanitation and hygiene committees,” he added.

 

He said that with the formation of committees, comprising local elders, women, men and youths, they would be tasked to conduct regular water quality monitoring activities and provide maintenance of the boreholes.

Bercasio said that the organisation would also conduct sensitisation activities to raise awareness on the rehabilitated facilities and how to use them.

 

He said that the IOM had completed the drilling of an additional borehole in Damboa, the rehabilitation of a community market in Konduga, and two primary schools in Mandarari and Pulka,  benefitting no fewer than 6,000 persons.

 

He said that the project approach was guided by the IOM Progressive Resolution of Displacement Situation (PRDS) framework, which started in November 2018, with duration of seven months.

 

Part of the objective was to promote pre-conditions for safe, dignified and voluntary return in identified areas of return.

 

According to the Humanitarian Response Strategy for Nigeria 2019 to 2021, an estimated 7.1 million people affected by the conflicts are in acute need of protection and life-saving assistance in the region. (NAN)
TAK/CHOM/GY
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Edited by Chioma Ugboma/Grace Yussuf

General news

(Video) NAN News Highlights for Wed. July 18, 2018

  1. The Federal Government has named a new National Carrier for the country, “Nigeria Air’’, bearing its national colour of green-white-green.

The Minister of State for Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, made the disclosure at the unveiling of the airline to investors at the ongoing Farnborough International Air Show in the UK.

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  1. The Independent National Electoral Commission says it will ensure thatall registered voters get their PVCs before the 2019 general elections and willcontinue to improve the quality of elections by drawing from the lessons learnt from conducted elections since the 2015 General Elections.

Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmud Yakubu, gave the assurance during a meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners on Wednesday adding that the commission would use the forum to reflect on the July 14 Ekiti State governorship elections and its preparations for the Osun State governorship election Scheduled for Sept. 22.

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  1. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has called for the support of the Nigerian media to curb irregular migration in the country by effective reportage of migration issues to create awareness on the dangers of the menace.

According to the organisation, IOM has assisted over 15,000 stranded Nigerian migrants to return home safely from more than 20 countries across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.

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  1. Former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu is dead.

He passed away in the early hours of Wednesday in a private hospital in Abuja at the age of 76 years.

Katsina-Alu, who hailed from Ushongo in Benue State, served as Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) between Dec.2009 and Aug.2011.

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  1. The Zimbabwe government has raised the rest of its workers’ salary by 17.5 per cent, a week after it hiked salaries of members of the defence forces and police by 22.5 per cent and 20 per cent respectively with effect from July 1.

The minister of state for presidential affairs Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, who confirmed the salary hike, also pledged that the government would meet other demands by the workers, including cash-in-lieu of leave for teachers in fulfilment of an agreement reached with them early this year.

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Foreign

521 migrants die in Mediterranean sea in 9 weeks – IOM

521 migrants die in Mediterranean sea in 9 weeks – IOM

NAN-H-49

Campaign

By Isaac Aregbesola

Abuja, March 10, 2017 (NAN) The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) says 521 migrants, mainly from Nigeria and other West African countries, died while crossing the Mediterranean sea and desert to Italy between January and first of week of March.

The organisation in a statement on Friday said it would host an online press conference on March 15 to commence aggressive awareness campaign to discourage people from embarking on such journey.

The organization, which expressed worry over dangerous adventures by migrants from the region, explained that the figure was 50 more compared to the same period in 2016.

IOM added that other countries involved in the dangerous journey include Ivory Coast, Guinea, Senegal and Gambia.

“Some 521 migrants died or disappeared in the Mediterranean from the start of the year up to March 5, 2017, compared to 471 in the same period last year.

“ Some 19,348 migrants and refugees have arrived by sea in Europe, more than 80 per cent of them in Italy (15,760) and the rest in Spain (1,000) and Greece (2,624).

“In the first 65 days of 2016, the figures were much higher with 138,524 arrivals, 129,423 of them in Greece,” IOM said.

According to IOM, the great majority of the deaths from Jan. 1 to March 1 were on the central Mediterranean route from North Africa to Italy, a total of 477.

“Some of the migrants who make it to Europe and share their ordeal with the IOM reveal that their journey was far more dangerous than expected.

“Many are unaware of the dangers and risks of migrating with the assistance of smugglers, not only at sea or in the desert, but also in transit countries like Libya,” IOM stated.

It stated that most migrants, when recalling the life-threatening risks along their journey, are often tend not to share their experience with peers who are still back home.

It stated as part of efforts to save others who are unaware of the risk in the adventure, IOM was embarking on sensitisation campaign to inform migrants from the susceptible countries.

It stated that the campaign, tagged “The Aware Migrants Campaign’’, aimed to inform migrants from those countries about the dangers of migrating irregularly across the Sahara desert, Libya and the Mediterranean Sea.

It said that the campaign would focus on 15 countries mostly in West Africa plus Tunisia and Egypt.

It added that the campaign was launched in the target countries of transit and origin in Africa with social media, TV and radio spots.

It stated that Flavio Di Giacomo and Shiraz Jerbi, IOM Coordination Office for the Mediterranean – the UN Migration Agency would host an online press conference on the campaign. (NAN)

IAA/MST

Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola