The International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) on Monday provided health care for 110 trafficked persons in Lagos.
The Director – General of NAPTIP, Mrs Fatima Waziri – Azi, said at the medical outreach that the programme was to ensure victims of human trafficking and other domestic violence such as molestation were placed back in good health.
She said that NAPTIP understood the trauma victims went through during trafficking, hence the need for proper medical checkup
Waziri -Azi, who was represented by Mrs Angela Agbayakhai, Director, Counseling and Rehabilitation, NAPTIP, said that most victims came back mentally unstable, depressed and sick.
“The medical outreach is put together by NAPTIP and ICMPD to ensure that trafficked persons do not come back and remain with these sicknesses,” she said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the medical outreach, a Netherlands funded project, was tagged “Strengthening Niger-Nigeria Cooperation on Countering Trafficking in Human Beings”.
It was inspired by a meeting facilitated by ICMPD between NAPTIP and ANLTP/TIM of Niger in 2019 in Abuja.
The Head of Region, ICPMD West Africa, Mrs Mojisola Sodeinde, said the medical outreach kicked off in 2021, and about 290 victims of human trafficking were treated in FCT, Edo and Lagos .
“This is the second phase of the programme and about 240 victims have already been treated, and over 100 will be treated in Lagos,” she said
Sodeinde, who was represented Mr Adeniyi Bakre, Program Assistant, ICPMD, urged shelter operators and service providers in the state to show empathy and proper care for the victims in their shelters.
“I also encourage synergy among service providers and relevant government agencies such as NAPTIP, Civil Society Organisations ( CSOs), Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) and Nigeria Police Force (NPF), among others , ” she said .
The Commander, NAPTIP Lagos Zone, Mrs Comfort Agboko, said the agency would ever remain committed to rescuing victims of human trafficking and reuniting them with their families.
NAN reports that ICMPD is an international organisation founded in 1993, currently with 20 European Member States, and active in more than 90 countries worldwide. (NAN)
