UN Population fund to help set up health posts for Togolese refugees in Benin

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) will be helping the government of Benin set up health posts and psychosocial counselling to assist some of the 40,000 Togolese who have fled their country into the West African country since clashes broke out around the April presidential polls.

Over 60 per cent of the refugees are women, young people and children under five, and many of them suffer from malnutrition: about 10 per cent of the women are of child-bearing age. Aimed mostly at meeting the needs of women, the health posts will be established in addition to supplementary food and vaccination programs that are already in operation.

Any displaced person who has been removed from his or her normal environment automatically becomes vulnerable,” said Fidelis Zama Chi, UNFPA Representative in Togo. “Many have shattered lives and have lost family – a child losing a parent or a wife losing a husband. Some are victims of sexual abuse. Their lives must be rebuilt.” About 200 refugees continue to make their way into Benin every week, said the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Maternity health kits, insecticide-treated mosquito nets, soap and other supplies have been provided by UNFPA to the camps, as well as facilities and midwives for pregnant women and for childbirth established at nearby health centres. Sensitivity training support is being provided to non governmental organisations (NGOs) for workshops aimed at preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Psychosocial counselling will be provided through a collaboration among the Togolese Government, NGOs and UNFPA to assist women in dealing with the loss of their homes, ways of life, and sometimes family members. To that end, 109 counsellors most of them from NGOs were trained by July.