The Interview Editors
Medecins Sans Frontieres, also known as Doctors Without Borders, told President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday that it budgeted as much as N17.7bn in 2020 to deliver humanitarian services in areas ravaged by conflicts and terror attacks in Nigeria.
According to a statement by Femi Adesina, President Buhari’s special adviser on media and publicity, the organisation said this was part of its own independent contribution to assist people in serious need of aid, especially medical supplies.
President Buhari received a delegation from the organization led by the International President, Dr. Christos Christou, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Friday.
Christou said the organisation, which started working in Nigeria in 1996, had presence in 10 states, with 90 per cent of its 3,000 employees Nigerians.
Buhari, while appreciating the work of the organisation, noted that its members made enormous sacrifices on a non-profit basis.
The President specifically mentioned the North-East geopolitical zone, where Boko Haram terrorists had destroyed many homes, leaving a huge humanitarian challenge for the federal government and other stakeholders to manage.
He told the visitors that his administration established a new ministry to coordinate the delivery of humanitarian services to victims of insurgency and those affected by other conflicts.
Adesina quoted him as saying, “We know the pathetic situation of children not knowing where their parents are, or the communities they come from, and that was why we established the new Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.
“This is to harness and channel resources to such deprived people”.
Buhari further stated that respite and succour would come to all the troubled areas and commended the support of many prominent and well-to-do organisations that were also involved in helping the needy.
“We are grateful to you. We will secure the environment in order for you to do your job.
“You are not doing it for profit. We remain very appreciative”, he said.
