THE Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has dispatched a rapid response team to Borno State amid fears of a potential disease outbreak following recent severe flooding in the region.
This was confirmed by the director general of the NCDC, Jide Idris, who stated that the move is a preventive measure to avert a possible public health crisis in the wake of the disaster.
Jide, in an interview with Arise Television, NewsNight show on Friday night, September 13, said the recent flooding, which has displaced a huge population, poses threats to outbreaks of diseases such as diarrhoea, fungi, and respiratory diseases.
The flood has heightened concerns about the spread of waterborne diseases such as cholera, and other infections that often thrive in such conditions.
The ICIR reported that following the flooding, which surged into the early hours of Tuesday, September 10, the United Nations’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) had previously issued a warning, expressing concerns over the devastating impact the flooding in Borno, where over 1 million people were affected by the disaster:
It also noted the possible risk of a cholera outbreak, as it stressed that access to clean water and proper sanitation facilities has been severely disrupted by the floodwaters.
Speaking on the possible impact of the flooding, the NCDC boss said the NCDC is working closely with state health officials, offering guidance and resources to support their efforts.
“Our work is just to support them in whatever they need to do in terms of stockpiling all the materials they probably would need just in case this thing happens. Take for instance, when I saw the magnitude of the flood in Borno, what we do is to look at the possible disease that could occur and look at the materials in terms of drugs and treatment materials and some even for respiratory things, all those you may need to treat those cases if you have them themselves,” he said.
He also noted that the Centre has begun coordinating with local health authorities in Borno.
“We dispatched a team to Borno state yesterday and I spoke to the lead this evening on whether they are going to have discussions with the director of public health and commissioner for health and plan. They are going to do their independent assessment but a fast one.
“But the fact is that there must be preparedness, now they have IDPs, which is even worse apart from diarrhoea disease because of a huge population of people we are going to have respiratory disease, fungal disease and all sorts of things,” Jide said.
He also noted that amid these efforts, he has been informed of the cholera outbreak in the state, “a lot of the materials we sent have things they could use for treatment of cholera.”
The flooding, caused by the overflow of the Alau Dam following heavy rains, has affected over 239,000 people in the Maiduguri Metropolitan Council (MMC) and Jere Local Government Areas (LGAs), according to the report.
The ICIR reports that the flood which ravaged parts of Borno State displaced residents and destroyed their homes while also displacing animals from the zoo.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: [email protected]. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M