Akko Gombe State: UNICEF and the Gombe State Government on Friday delivered relief to women and children displaced by the Bauchi attacks, reaching camps across the state.
The beneficiaries are among 7,000 displaced people from Alkaleri, Bauchi State, after bandit attacks.
The victims are currently staying in a camp in Kashere town, Akko Local Government Area, Gombe State.
Nuzhat Rafique, Chief of UNICEF’s Bauchi Field Office, explained that the main goal of the intervention is to prevent disease outbreaks and improve the living conditions of people in the camp.
She expressed concern about poor sanitation and emphasised the need to improve hygiene to protect women’s and children’s health.
UNICEF is here especially to support immunisation and health services for pregnant and lactating mothers, including deliveries at a nearby facility where services are available.
“Today we distributed hygiene and dignity kits because sanitation is very poor here, and hygiene must improve to prevent cholera and other diseases.
We gave almost 600 dignity and WASH kits to improve camp hygiene,” she said.
Rafique said many children had now begun receiving their first routine immunisations.
She explained that several children at the camp who had received no doses were now being covered under the immunisation programme.
She said children who never attended school would benefit from temporary learning facilities.
“We will create a safe learning space so these children can resume their education,” she said.
Rafique thanked state governments for their commitment to supporting displaced people, which is central to the intervention’s effectiveness.
She also praised the host community for helping run the camp and maintain order.
Abdulrahman Shuaibu, Executive Secretary of the Gombe State Primary Health Care Development Agency, reported ongoing health interventions for displaced families.
Shuaibu said the agency had supplied free medicines to improve residents’ access to treatment at the camp.
He noted that children’s health remained a priority, with several children who had received zero doses already vaccinated.
According to him, two children had died in the camp, while two babies had been delivered since the displaced families arrived.
About 300 children had received routine immunisations as of Thursday, he added.
He added that 33 zero-dose children had also been vaccinated.
He said UNICEF and the state government are providing therapeutic food for malnourished children.
Camp committee chair Umar Badiko said displaced families arrived on Feb. 24 after the attacks.
He explained that they fled from the Digare, Mansur, Yelo, and Gwana wards in the Alkaleri Local Government Area.
Badiko said children make up 3,000 to 4,000 of the camp’s 7,000 residents.
He warned that the high child population increased the risk of disease outbreaks.
He stated that UNICEF’s efforts were crucial in preventing health crises among the camp’s residents, reinforcing the central message of the intervention’s impact.
He noted poor hygiene and open defecation had raised fears of disease.
Badiko lamented the camp’s lack of sanitation facilities.
He said only 20 toilets currently serve the entire population of about 7,000 displaced persons.
He appealed for the urgent construction of additional toilets to discourage open defecation and improve sanitation.
Some displaced women commended the governments of Gombe and Bauchi, as well as UNICEF, for supporting them.
They said food, medicines, and medical services were being provided free at the camp.
However, some mothers with malnourished children appealed for urgent assistance to treat the condition and reverse the effects of malnutrition.
