ICRC reunites 729 separated children with families in Northeast
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the National Red Crescent Society (NRCS) have helped 729 children in the Northeast get back together with their families.
About 24 and 963 people were forced to leave their homes during the 13-year conflict in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe States.
The 2022 ICRC Operational Facts and Figures dashboard, which was given to journalists in Maiduguri, Borno State, on Tuesday, showed these numbers.
Yann Bonzon, the head of the ICRC’s delegation in Nigeria, said that fighting has forced people to leave their homes and stay in makeshift camps.
He noted that this led to many family members, including children, being separated from their parents and guardians during the conflict.
“The loved ones have gone missing, while their livelihoods were disrupted by the over-a-decade conflict in the Northeast,” he lamented.
On how the children were reunited, he disclosed that 4,319 Red Cross messages were exchanged to re-establish contact between separated family members with the help of the ICRC and NRCS.
Continued: “About 1, 020 names of missing persons were broadcast on radio, informing them that their family members were looking for them.
“There were also 672 pictures of persons looking for their missing family members in Borno, Adamawa, Gombe, and Yobe States.”
He said the names of the missing persons were also published in photo booklets to assist the ICRC with the search process.
According to him, 812 phone calls between separated family members also facilitated the reunion of 729 children with their family members.
