Tuggar: How Nigeria facilitated transfer of critically ill children in Gaza to Egypt, UAE

Yusuf Tuggar, minister of foreign affairs, says Nigeria played a role in facilitating the transfer of sick infants from Gaza to neighbouring countries for medical care.

Tuggar spoke on Thursday during a session in the series of ministerial press briefings hosted by the ministry of information and national orientation in Abuja.

The move comes as hospitals in Gaza struggle under the weight of Israel’s ongoing military offensive against Hamas, which has devastated the enclave’s healthcare system.

Many children, especially newborns, have been at high risk due to a lack of electricity, medicine, and functioning medical equipment in besieged hospitals.

The humanitarian effort to evacuate these infants follows international appeals for urgent medical assistance, with Egypt and other neighboring countries serving as safe havens for treatment.

Tuggar said Nigeria was one among the countries contacted by the Red Cross to consider providing refuge and assistance to the children at stake in the enclave.

“Red Cross approached us to find out if we will be willing to take in such babies because they were looking for countries that had shown concern about the state of affairs in Gaza, particularly of young people, of the hardship that the Gazans were facing at the time,” Tuggar said in response to a question posed by TheCable seeking clarity on the aid process.

“So our response was that we cannot take the risk of such infants that were in fragile conditions. Some of them were born with heart conditions, for instance.

“That is why we decided the best thing for us to do is, we will use our good offices, we will use diplomacy to contact the governments, the ministers of foreign affairs of Jordan, of the United Arab Emirate, of Egypt and impress upon them the need for them to take in such children, and that’s exactly what happened.”

Tuggar said the move underscores Nigeria’s position of strategic autonomy, dealing with countries based on national interests.