In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the safety challenges posed to refugees, the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), with help from Caritas Nigeria distributed sanitation kits to refugees in the three settlements in Cross River State on May 21, 2020.
The refuges in the settlements, situated in Adagom 1, Adagom 3 and Okende localities of Ogoja Local Government Area, got bars of soap, hand-wash, buckets, sanitisers and nose masks – depending on household sizes.
CARITAS Nigeria’s protection staff and Protection Monitors were on hand to ensure that refugees maintained and respected the social distancing, as well as ensuring that persons with specific needs (PWSNs) were not overwhelmed or overlooked in the distribution.
Also, working with the Cross River State Emergency Management (SEMA), CARITAS Nigeria maintained law and order, to prevent rowdiness.
The distribution was aimed at helping refugees in Cross River State under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) project to provide protection and education assistance for Cameroonian refugees (PEACR) cope with the evolving challenges of staying safe in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.