Save the Children International (SCI), a charity organisation, says cholera cases have been recorded in internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, due to the flood incident.
Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, Duncan Harvey, the country director of SCI in Nigeria, called for urgent intervention to prevent the spread of the disease.
“I was in Maiduguri until Saturday when I saw the massive damages the flooding caused and interacted with some affected families,” Harvey said.
“It was an opportunity for me and my organisation to evaluate the situation and work with my colleagues in Maiduguri to provide immediate assistance to some affected populations.
“The flooding is happening at the height of a food and nutrition crisis — the lean season.
“In addition to the immediate need for food and clean water for the IDPs, water-borne diseases and malaria are major risks.
“Open defecation in the camps is widespread. The first cholera cases have been reported and this is a major health risk that needs an urgent intervention.”
He said the organisation is on ground in Maiduguri to provide urgent rescue service, life-saving response and rehabilitation of affected communities.
He said SCI has also set up health and nutrition outreach services to help the affected households.
“Save the Children’s urgent response plan to the crisis includes but not limited to multi-purpose cash assistance (MPCA) to the affected households; setting up health and nutrition outreach services to the affected households,” he said.
“Rehabilitation of sanitation facilities and conducting hygiene promotion and community awareness raising; child protection in emergencies through setting up mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) help desk to provide psychological first-aid and psychosocial support to children and caregivers in the camps; the rollout of safe family sessions and establishing minimum protection monitoring activities, among others.”