Maiduguri- Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is highly concerned about the significant risk of malaria and waterborne diseases, including cholera, following the recent flooding that swallowed vast parts of Maiduguri, Borno state, Nigeria. There is also fear that this crisis could increase the levels of malnutrition in the area. We call for urgent additional support, especially in terms of water and sanitation services and medical care, to protect people already heavily impacted by long-term insecurity and unprecedented levels of malnutrition.
On 10 September, heavy rain caused the Alau dam in Borno state to overflow, leading to major floods in and around the city of Maiduguri. The deluge heavily impacted houses, markets, fields, livestock, and several health facilities. According to Borno State authorities, close to 400,000 people have been registered in 30 makeshift displacement sites.
“We are very concerned about the precarious living conditions and the potential outbreaks of cholera and malaria,” says Dr Issaley Abdel Kader, MSF’s Head of Mission in Nigeria. “The number of children affected by malaria and acute watery diarrhoea had already started to increase before the flooding, and we have seen some with clinical signs of cholera since the floods. We are afraid that the number of cases will rise without the increase of medical and humanitarian support, especially regarding water, sanitation, and hygiene.”
Last week, MSF teams went to several displacement sites (Galtimari, Yerwa, Ali Sheriff, Vocational Enterprise Institute, Teachers Village) to assess people’s needs and start the provision of essential services such as access to water through water-trucking and water tanks, the installation and repair of latrines, and the distribution of mosquito nets. Teams are also running outpatient consultations in the sites, including mental health support, and referring critical patients to the facilities we support.
Fonte original msf.org
