Disease stalks 1-million Nigeria flood victims

Maiduguri — People in Nigeria’s flood-hit northeastern Borno state are struggling to get medical care as overwhelmed aid agencies warn of an outbreak of waterborne disease after the worst floods to hit the region in three decades.

More than 30 people died in the floods, which authorities said affected about 1-million people, most of whom were housed in camps without food and clean water.

The aftermath of the deluge threatens not only the health and safety of the displaced, but also puts a strain on aid agencies and government resources, worsening an already critical humanitarian crisis.

Floods in Borno state, including the Lake Chad basin affected by a Boko Haram insurgency, started when a dam burst its walls after heavy rainfall that has also caused floods in Cameroon, Chad, Mali and Niger, all part of Africa’s Sahel region that usually receives little rain.

Borno state governor Babagana Zulum described the extent of the damage as “beyond human imagination”.

In the last two weeks of August, more than 1.5-million people were displaced across 12 countries in West and Central Africa due to floods, and about 465 have been killed, according to the UN humanitarian affairs office.

Over the weekend, an additional 50,000 people were displaced in northeastern Nigeria as the floods intensified, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said on Monday.

“The situation in the Sahel and Lake Chad region is increasingly dire, as the compounding effects of conflict, displacement and climate change take a severe toll on vulnerable populations,” said Hassane Hamadou, the NRC’s Central and West Africa regional director.

The floods in West Africa come at a time of flooding in Europe after days of torrential rain that caused rivers to burst their banks in several parts of the region.

In a camp in Maiduguri, Borno’s state capital, Bintu Amadu was among hundreds of frustrated people waiting for hours to see a doctor because her son had diarrhoea.

“We have not received any aid, and our attempts to see a doctor have been unsuccessful. We have been waiting for medical attention since yesterday, but to no avail,” she said.

Ramatu Yajubu was happy she had obtained an appointment card after waiting for days, but quickly added: “I am uncertain about receiving attention due to the overwhelming number of people seeking care.”

Years of a jihadist insurgency have driven many people from their farms.

Mathias Goemaere, a field co-ordinator for Medecins Sans Frontieres, said that even before the floods, residents in Borno were struggling with malnutrition.

“They are exposed to their environment, so what do we see? A lot of waterborne diseases, diarrhoea, diarrhoeal diseases ... Malaria is around with a lot of mosquitoes,” Goemaere said.

“So a lot of people, because of malnutrition, are immunosuppressed, which makes them more susceptible to diseases.”

On Tuesday, UN humanitarian co-ordinator in Nigeria Mohammed Fall said the UN had donated  $6m to support flood victims in Borno State.

Nigeria’s government has separately warned of rising water levels in the country’s largest rivers, the Benue and Niger, which could cause floods in the oil-producing Niger Delta region in the south.

Reuters