The Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Uhogua, Benin City, Edo State, has raised concerns over worsening hardship triggered by the country’s economic situation, saying food supplies have dwindled and many students sponsored by the camp can no longer continue their education.

The Coordinator of the camp, known as Home for the Needy Foundation, Pastor Solomon Folorunsho, said the impact of rising hardship has forced the camp to drastically cut its feeding capacity. He noted that the camp, which previously cooked 15 bags of rice for a single meal, now struggles to prepare five.

Folorunsho, overseer of the International Christian Centre, said the camp currently has no food reserves. “It has not been easy feeding multitude as this, especially with this economic situation of Nigeria, but the passion we have for the less privileged has kept us moving,” he said.

He disclosed that the foundation sponsors more than 400 students in universities across the country, but many have been sent home due to unpaid school fees. “Some universities are not allowing our students to write exams because they have been unable to pay their school fees,” he said.

Speaking on healthcare needs, Folorunsho appealed for support to improve emergency response and medical services at the camp. “We also need an ambulance, because at times, when we have emergencies, we have to be running up and down to get a vehicle. If we have an ambulance stationed here, we can rush to UBTH. We also need medical laboratory equipment for our medical personnel to run tests in the health centre,” he added.

The coordinator thanked individuals and organisations that have been supporting the camp but appealed for more urgent intervention. He called on well-meaning Nigerians, non-governmental organisations, the international community and food-producing companies to provide food supplies, educational materials and financial support.

“What these children need is food to eat and the ability to go to school. They need notebooks, textbooks and support for teachers and school fees,” Folorunsho said, stressing that many of the children had experienced severe trauma before arriving at the camp. “Some of them saw their parents beheaded, some saw dead bodies: they saw all sorts of horrible things. Now that they are out of trauma, we do not want them to go back to trauma again because of not having food to eat or because of inability to pay school fees.”