By Fatima Anafu- Astanga
Bolgatanga, June 27, GNA – Mr Djerassem Mbaiorem, UNHCR’s Head of Office in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region has noted that the Solution to the refugee situation is not rocket science.
He said it requires interventions in education, health, livelihood opportunity, and access to water is key for them to live dignified lives.
He said everything would be doable if all stakeholders commonly ensured their responsibility in terms of protecting and assisting the refugees to live peacefully with host communities.
Mr Mbaiorem who said this in an interview with the GNA at Tarikom settlement in Bawku West District was grateful to the chiefs and people of Tarikom for the peaceful coexistence with the refugees and noted that though initially the refugees entertained fears of living at the settlement, over the period the leadership of the refugees had established the trust and even moved to the chiefs compounds to interact with elders there.
He indicated that shelter and livelihood challenges to improve the daily conditions of the refugees were still inadequate and he said the UNHCR was working with donors and other development agencies to see how they can help improve the situation.
“We are still discussing with other donors and development agencies to see how they can help with more infrastructure and facilities in the host community especially classrooms, shelter and CHPS compound”. The Head of the office noted.
“The schools have more than 800 children and if we have more children coming, the school will be over-crowded and so we need to support other schools around hence the need for more infrastructures for the children,” he said.
He also mentioned the need for support for a CHPS centre to enhance the service delivery capacity of the health centre and or health workers to give first aid response and receive deliveries of pregnant mothers since pregnant women are sent to the district hospital in Zebilla hospital.
Some of the organizations he mentioned were currently at the camp at Tarikom supporting ADRA helping with livelihood activities among others while other religious and NGOs have provided support to the refugees.
He also noted that the Ghana Refugee Board (GRB), Department of Women and children, and Social Welfare were also working to address child protection issues and to make sure refugees’ psychosocial issues were addressed.
Mr Mbaiorem said since March refugees have been receiving cash donations to enable them to meet their basic needs and nutrition needs and together with UNHCR were supporting the refugees with livelihood activities to restore their dignity.
He said children at the camp have access to National services including the NHIS while about 250 of the children were enrolled in the primary school and Junior high schools in the community.
He advised refugees to abide by the laws and rules of the country, endeavour to keep their environment clean and live peacefully with host communities while interventions for more shelter, which was a challenge were sought for them.
Speaking on Ghana’s Asylum policy, Mr Mbaiorem noted the free movement policy of asylum seekers and praised the efforts of the Ghana government in ensuring all refugees living close to border communities moved to the settlement camp.
He said the initial settlement created for the refugees in Sapeliga, also in the Bawku West, just two kilometres to the borders of Burkina Faso was a threat to them and therefore commended the directives by the government of Ghana to ensure that refugees stayed away from the border areas for security reasons and avoidance of spillover of the conflict in Burkina Faso.
GNA