By Musdapha Ilo, Maiduguri

The Nigerian government has given a grant of N30 million to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, UMTH, to enhance its capacity to response on time to medical cases of victims of Boko Haram attacks in Borno State.

This was disclosed on Thursday by the North east zone coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Mohammed Kanar.

“NEMA has given N30 million to the Teaching hospital as support to enable them timely respond to the needs of health cases referred to them. Similar support will be provided to other major hospitals in due course,” he stated.

He said further that the government planned to extend similar gesture to other major hospitals in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, which are saddled with treating victims of terrorist attacks.

Speaking at a meeting with stakeholders in emergency management in Maiduguri, Kanar also disclosed that NEMA was supporting the Borno state government “to pay the medical bills of referral medical cases of vulnerable IDPs from camps and victims of bomb blasts.”

He said that the agency had been coordinating activities at IDP camps in the state with the help of the Borno State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, and other humanitarian organisations and that their roles included supervision of daily food cooking, supervision of shelter, psychological and medical support to IDPs, among others.

Although he agreed that there were enormous challenges confronted in running the camps, the NEMA boss urged all stakeholders to work together, adding that with unity of purpose and resolve, the difficulties can be surmounted.

“We need the understanding of all and not condemnation for it is a huge challenge to be saddled with the responsibility of taking care of 1.5 million IDPs,” he admonished.