FEARS THAT WATERBOURNE DISEASES COULD SPREAD IN THE AF-TERMATH OF NIGERIAN FLOODS

By Ml. Luqman Skink, INX Prime News and Current Affairs Editor

Doctors Without Borders, or MSF has raised the alarm about the significant risk of malaria and waterborne diseases, including cholera, following the recent severe flooding in Nigeria that swallowed vast parts of Maiduguri.

There is also a fear that this crisis could increase the levels of malnutrition in the area.

The severe flooding in Nigeria’s northeastern state of Borno has impacted an estimated 400,000 people, with the displaced accommodated in makeshift camps.

The situation has negatively impacted the access to healthcare, and the conditions in the camps mean that people are in dire need of food, proper shelter, clean water, and sanitation facilities.

STATE GOVERNMENT CLOSES DOWN SOME DISPLACEMENT CAMPS

Speaking to INX Prime, MSF Project Coordinator in the Borno state capital of Maiduguri, Mathias Goemaere, said immediately after the floods, the government opened around 34 camps, including primary schools that were closed for the holidays at the time.

However, sanitary conditions at the schools were wholly inadequate. But around 3-4 days later, the government closed the camps at schools with the reason that they did not want to further deprive the children of schooling, who had already missed out on five years of education because of the Boko Haram insurgency.

BORNO’S MALNUTRITION CRISIS

The floods hit this normally arid region of Nigeria in the midst of one of the worst malnutrition crises in recent times. Mathias explained that when people are malnourished, they are immuno-suppressed and their immune system is less resistant, making them more susceptible to diseases.

”This is normally the rainy season, and with it comes mosquitoes and malaria, but this time around, because of the flooding that submerged and contaminated boreholes, it has come with the threat of cholera.”

MSF’S RESPONSE TO THE BORNO FLOODS

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) have been running a malnutrition project in Maiduguri, which caters to children aged between 1 and 5 years old. About 18 days since the floods, the number of children needing assistance has steadily grown, with around 353 patients currently receiving help.

Mathias says the MSF is starting to see some of the most severe cases of malnutrition in the aftermath of the floods. "We are beginning to see children with severe malnutrition, what we call late patient presentation, and it becomes a race against time to save them."

THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE

This time of year is usually the harvest season, and in a region close to the Sahel, the arid climate is quite punishing. But this lean season, people have been particularly looking forward to a bumper harvest that would alleviate malnutrition and bring down the price of food.

But the floods have completely upended those expectations, and food inflation has risen sharply in the aftermath, with a devastating impact on food security.

”The reality now is that we are dealing with a second peak of malnutrition that is expected to last a long time. Along with that, we are dealing with waterborne diseases, measles, diphtheria, and malaria, which are all on the rise.”

Some of the most needed items for the people struggling in the aftermath of the floods include clean drinking water, sanitary kits, with food being the most important.

TO DONATE AND SUPPORT THE CAUSE

To contribute to efforts by MSF in any of the seventy countries they operate in, visit their website at www.msf.org.za.