The United Nations Country Representative, Mr Dauda Toure, has said Nigeria has the highest number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the world numbering 1.5 million.

Toure said this on Wednesday, in Abuja, while giving his goodwill message to commemorate the 2015 World Humanitarian Day organised by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

He noted that a major problem for the victims was lack of access to them, regarding victims that are not in camps, but in host communities.

The universal programme tagged ‘Inspiring the World’s Humanity’, according to the Director General of NEMA, Alhaji Mohammed Sani Sidi, was set aside by the United Nations General Assembly since 2008 to celebrate the gallantry of humanitarian service providers, who have lost their lives or survived different threats while providing humanitarian services to persons caught in the web of natural or human-induced disasters especially in violent conflict situations.
“The world which is now noted to be more volatile due to prevailing complex emergencies has placed a serious burden on humanitarian workers, who are working in risky environments in various countries to bring hope to the people affected by disasters.

“This is the time to show solidarity and commend their efforts,” he said.
While commending NEMA for its effort, Toure stated that there was a need to scale up response to crisis in the country.
“There is a need for more resources to be made available to improve responsiveness in the areas of education and health care.”

Toure however, appealed to international communities and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to make more resources available to help to rebuild the livelihoods of the affected victims of insurgency in the North-east, adding that the region has a lot of potential to develop.