The National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI) has distributed various personal protective items (PPI) against the spread of COVID-19 to 18,891 refugees in Ogoja, Cross River State.
There are about 70,000 refugees in Cross River State.
The items, which were distributed at the Refugees settlements in Adagum, Adagum 3 and Ukende respectively, included face masks, hand sanitisers, soap and buckets.
The Federal Commissioner in charge of the commission, Senator Basheer Garba Mohammed said the items were meant to help the refugees improve their personal hygiene and to protect them from the ravaging coronavirus.
Mohammed, who was represented by the Deputy Director, Planning, Research and Development in the commission, Mrs. Mama Edet, further stated that the refugees had become part of the commission, and as such everything possible must be done to protect them.
The representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Ogoja, Mr. Mulugeta Zewdie commended the commission for the timely intervention which he said would surely impact the rising number of refugees positively.
Zewdie stressed that UNHCR as the global body charged with ensuring the well-being of refugees worldwide would continue to partner the commission towards achieving a common objective.
The team of officials from the commission and its partners also inspected facilities in the settlement to determine areas where intervention would be necessary.
