from EMEKA OKONKWO in Abuja, Nigeria
Nigeria Bureau
ABUJA, (CAJ News) – THE death toll from the flooding crisis in Nigeria has exceeded 300.
More than 1,2 million people have been displaced following the spell of heavy rains.
As a result of the flooding, the water borne disease, cholera, is on the rise.
Numbers of cholera cases increase countrywide amid floods.
Malnutrition is also escalating, with the floods occurring at the height of a lean season within a food security and malnutrition crisis.
Some 33 of Nigeria’s 36 states have suffered floods, which are also impacting on humanitarian operations in the crisis-torn northeastern regions of Nigeria.
A nationwide cholera outbreak remains a major public health concern across the West African country.
As of mid-October, the country had recorded over 14 000 suspected cholera cases, resulting in a death toll of 378, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
The northern states of Borno, Adamawa, Jigawa, Yobe, and Kano are the epicentres of the outbreak.
Inadequate water and sanitation infrastructure exacerbate the outbreak.
“Additional support and resources are needed to manage and contain the cholera outbreak effectively,” the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs appealed.
Reports from various humanitarian organisations indicate rising levels of acute malnutrition.
An October 15 report from the International Committee of the Red Cross indicated a 24 percent increase in malnutrition cases among young children in healthcare facilities it supports in north-east Nigeria.
In addition, the Red Cross recorded a 48 percent rise in severe acute malnutrition amid medical complications among children under five during the second quarter of 2024, compared to the same period in 2023.
– CAJ News