MAKURDI/Nigeria: An American humanitarian organisation, Equipping The Persecuted (ETP), has intervened in the medical crisis confronting 20 people injured in the August 16 attack on Mbaterem community in Ukum Local Government Area of Benue State.
The intervention saw the organisation settle outstanding hospital bills and provide additional financial assistance to some of the most seriously injured victims receiving treatment in three health facilities around Zaki-Biam and Kyado.
The support was approved by ETP Founder and Executive Director, Judd Saul, and implemented by a team led by Mike Odeh James.
At St. Anthony’s Hospital in Zaki-Biam, the organisation paid the outstanding bills of eight victims still receiving treatment.
The beneficiaries included two people who suffered the loss of a hand during the attack, while another young woman was being treated for injuries sustained during the violence in which her father and younger brother were killed.
Beyond settling the hospital bills, the ETP team provided additional financial assistance to some of the severely injured victims to help them continue their treatment.
The organisation also supported the family of the late James Utsev with money to obtain a coffin for his burial.
The team subsequently travelled about 28 kilometres to the more remote Kyado area, where it visited Tyav Medicare Services and cleared the medical bills of another 10 survivors.
Two of the victims at the facility suffered the loss of both hands, leaving them with severe and potentially permanent disabilities.
The team also encountered a young girl who had already been medically cleared to leave the facility but remained there because her family could not settle the outstanding bill. ETP paid the bill, enabling her to return home.
The final beneficiaries were treated at Erdoo Clinic in Kyado, where the organisation settled the bills of an 80-year-old woman and her 32-year-old son.
The three facilities recorded a combined 20 victims who benefited directly from the intervention.
For the survivors, however, the financial burden goes beyond hospital bills. Several are dealing with permanent physical injuries, bereavement and the loss of sources of livelihood following the attack.
ETP’s Media and Public Relations Officer, Franc Utoo, said the organisation considered assistance to survivors an important part of its humanitarian response.
According to him, Saul had directed the organisation to extend assistance to victims of attacks in several affected communities, including Zaki-Biam, Otukpo Nobi, Akpachi and Efeyi.
Utoo also appealed to the Benue State Government to make the safe return of internally displaced persons to their ancestral communities a priority.
He argued that restoring displaced communities to their homes should receive greater attention in the state’s response to the crisis.
The intervention comes as families affected by violence in rural Benue continue to face the additional challenge of meeting medical expenses after surviving attacks.
For the 20 Mbaterem survivors assisted by ETP, the immediate pressure of unpaid medical bills has now been eased, although many still face a longer road to physical recovery, rehabilitation and economic restoration.
