By: Simon Ushie.
Aside Natural disasters like volcano eruption, windstorm and flood, wars have forced many people out of their ancestral homes exposing them to limited access to healthcare and social services.
This ordinarily should be the story of the over 40,000 refugees of Cameron origin scattered across various Local Government Areas in Cross River State, but for the magnanimity of the state government, these displaced people now have unlimited access to quality Healthcare services within and outside their camps.
With sensitization and awareness on the dreaded Covid-19 in villages and towns , the government showed no discrimination as health workers were sent to these centres to teach people on the importance of maintaining global protocols to halt disease spread and mortality.
This was followed by the supply and Distribution of personal protective equipment and most recently, vaccination of eligible refugees with the Astrazeneca vaccine.
These gestures have received wide applause by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, as officials of the humanitarian body paid a courtesy visit to the Cross River State Government to appreciate her for the unrelenting efforts to guarantee refugee’s sound health.
Leading the delegation, Tesfaye Bekele, UNHCR sub regional office head, said, since 2016, the state government have remained generous to the refugees offering health and social services which is considered a luxury in some other refugee communities.
“Since the arrival of the refugees in the state , we have enjoyed collaboration and good working relationship with the Government which have made us to settle well
in the state.
Some of the refugees are living in the camp and others in the communities which grant them access to health care all year round.
Recently we received vaccines, it is examplary and commendable, over 700 have been vaccinated and we are sure that all eligible refugees will receive theirs in due time”.
Receiving the team and the materials on behalf of the state government , the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Betta Edu commended the team for supporting the state in the fight against Covid19 .
She said, greater collaborations with the UNHCR in renovating health Facilities and the Provision of health Equipment have helped in fighting disease outbreaks in camps and host Communities noting that the state remain resolute in Universal access to health care for both locals and refugees.
Director General of the Cross River State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Janet Ekpenyong and head of the state Immunization team, said her team will ensure that all eligible individuals are vaccinated as more teams are being deployed to camps and settlements across the state.
She noted that the state will continue to push further with trailblazing actions which today has ranked the state among top three perfoming states in the Country on Covid-19 Immunization coverage.
Dr. Janet, assured the UNHCR of continuous support for their programs which she said has affected the lives of both locals and refugees.
“We will continue to support the UNHCR to ensure that all of your programs are implemented because your programs are not only beneficial to the refugees alone but other members of the community as well.
As of today, we are one of the top performing states in the country, these donation will go a long way in supporting greater coverage and improve our results”.
Some of the items donated includes Antiseptics, facemasks, gloves, Theatre apron and vaccine josters.
