In Borno alone, IDPs in 18 camps give birth to 17,053 babies in 2 years

According to the UN agency, the figure represents information of babies who have been registered between 2019 to May 2021.

The IOM Chief of Mission, Mr Frantz Celestin revealed this to journalists during the agency’s Breakfast meeting with the media in collaboration with the National Population Commission and UNICEF.

Celestin said the biometrics of the IDPs in each camp is important for food distribution and medical provision.

He said, “We do biometric data collection so that we know exactly the number of people who have been displaced so that the service we provide to them can be effective.

“This is important for food distribution, for non-food items distribution, it is also important for medical provision.

“Some of the work that we do on our displacement matrix data is to work with the population commission and UNICEF to provide birth certificates to those under five who were born in the camps.

“On the number of children that were born in the camps, I know last time I checked, those we had taken the biometrics and issued with birth certificates between 2019 and May 2021 were 17,053.”

The IOM chief also disclosed that 29,000 individuals, including Nigerians, Ghanaians, Somalians and other Africans have emigrated to Europe through the Mediterranean Sea this year.

He said 13,000 were arrested by the coast guards and returned home while 761 migrants perished in the sea.