ICRC president: Insecurity making it difficult to provide humanitarian services in north-east

Peter Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), says insecurity in the north-east is making it difficult to provide humanitarian services in the region. 

Speaking with journalists in Lagos, Maurer said the north-east is prone to different epidemic owing to the danger of the bad health situation being witnessed in the area.

He said the huge gap in health care services needs to be addressed urgently.

“My visit to the north-east has confirmed the depth of humanitarian issues. The circle of violence has shown the despair many people find themselves,” Maurer said.

“It is extremely difficult to provide services like sanitation, health services because of the insecurity and the size of the case load we are confronted with.

“We do our best to cope with these issues and we see that Nigerian authority is also trying but by far it is not enough to respond adequately and provide people with a decent lifestyle.”

He, however, said he observed that the current situation is better than when he visited the region in 2014/2015.

He noted that the recurring crisis is increasingly affecting the north, adding that the organisation is working towards providing more services.

” A lot has been done. It is encouraging to say the situation I found is better than what it was when I visited in 2014/2015,” he said.

“Things are improving but not to the extent I will call satisfactory. Because of the gap we see, we are looking at more health care support, water and sanitation support that will be long lasting.

“Humanitarian support up north is not enough and that is why I am here to encourage the business community that they can look at how to get involved too.”