Internationally renowned charity group, doctors without borders, MSF says about 200 refugees fleeing Boko Haram militants have starved to death over the past month in Bama, Borno State.

The group says a catastrophic humanitarian emergency was unfolding at a camp it visited where 24,000 people have taken refuge, adding that many people in the camp are traumatised with one in every five children severely malnourished.

Aid Ghada-Hatim, head of the MSF in Nigeria said “According to the accounts given to MSF by displaced people in Bama, new graves are appearing on a daily basis. We were told on certain days, more than 30 people were dying due to hunger and illness.

During the assessment, the MSF team said it counted 1,233 graves located near the camp which had been dug in the past year, 480 of which were for children.

“This is the first time MSF has been able to access Bama but we already know the needs of the people there are beyond critical,” Hatim says.

“Since 23 May, at least 188 people have died in the camp – almost six per day – mainly from diarrhea and malnutrition,” adding that the charity group is treating malnourished children in medical facilities in Maiduguri, the Borno State Capital.

The National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, has also confirmed the report.

Mohammed Kannar, Northeast Coordinator of NEMA said the agency is working together with other aid agencies to ensure that IDPs are better taken care of.