IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science (IOSR-JHSS) Volume 24, Issue 5, Ser. 4 (May. 2019) 20-28 e-ISSN: 2279-0837, p-ISSN: 2279-0845. www.iosrjournals.org DOI: 10.9790/0837-2405042028 www.iosrjournals.org 20 |Page Initiative for the Provision of Health Services to the Internally Displaced Persons Fatima Ahmed and Ifatimehin Olayemi Olufemi 1 Department of Political Sciences, University of Maiduguri 2 Department of Public Administration, Kogi State University, Anyigba Corresponding Author: Ifatimehin Olayemi Olufemi Abstract: There is need to respond to the plight of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) amidst the growing number of calls for concerted efforts and better management. This can be facilitated through collaboration among the agencies responsible for the management of IDPs. The government of nations has the primary responsibility to cater for the healthcare needs of IDPs, however, in most nations experiencing displacement, the government do not have the capacity to provide such services. Hence, NGOs mandated by the United Nations Guiding Principles (91998) most often intervene to mitigate on the sufferings of the IDPs. This paper provided a review of literature, which showed that most often the health needs of the IDPs are not well catered for, especially when interventions are done independently or by single organizations. The study hence recommended for a collaborative approach in the provision of health services to IDPs. Keywords: Internally Displaced Persons, health services, provision --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date of Submission: 29-04-2019 Date of acceptance: 13-05-2019 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. INTRODUCTION Globally, the growth and changing nature of governmental responsibilities as well as achange in the nature and extent of conflicts, and the need for aproactive response to the plight of those affected by conflicts has brought with it re-organisation. The political and economic pressures to reduce the size and scope of government responsibilities and to cut expenditures and the lack of capacities by most countries ravaged by these conflicts informed the restructuring. The need for collaboration as part of the restructuring has received serious attention,especially in human services. Collaboration is put in place to ensure more predictable funding, strengthening coordination mechanisms, adoption of better preparedness measures and improved common services in the response to humanitarian crisis. With more than 66 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in 31 countries as at the end of 2016, sub-Saharan Africa is the region worst affected by internal displacement caused by conflict and violence International Office of Migration (IOM), 2016). Since the beginning of the Syrian crisis, the number of IDPs in the region has reached a record of 12 million, almost five times the figure a decade ago (International Office of Migration (IOM), 2016). IOM (2016) also points out there were 40.8 million IDPs worldwide due largely to conflict and violence at the end of 2015 – an increase of 28 million on 2014, and the highest figure ever recorded. In 2016 the number of IDPs has doubled in Middle East as result of the activities of ISIS. Just ten countries accounted for over two thirds of the total, or around 30 million people. Colombia, DRC, Iraq, Sudan and South Sudan have featured in the list of the ten largest internally displaced populations every year since 2003 (Bilak et al. 2016). The figure proves that Internal Displacement is inarguably a serious humanitarian crisis and it is fast engulfing nations all over the world especially in Africa as a result of terrorist activities. Since internally displaced persons remain within the territorial jurisdiction of their own countries, the primary duty and responsibility for the management and humanitarian assistance to them without discrimination and in accordance with international human rights and humanitarian law lie with the National and Sub-National authorities concerned. However, global trends for the management of IDPs has called for restructuring in terms of collaborationalong with others to enhance cooperation between governmental agencies and Non- Governmental Organisations (NGOs) with shared responsibilities and overlapping jurisdictions. The need for collaboration as earlier stated has received considerable attention in human service systems, as well as in the field of management of the displaced persons. The United Nations Guiding Principle (1998) as part of the implementation framework for restructuring the management of IDPs, provides for an institutional mechanism for collaboration, including the establishment of a collaborative and coordination framework, designation and strengthening of a lead internal displacement coordination institution, creation of