Lagos (dpa) – After severe flooding in Nigeria, the aid organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is warning of an outbreak of diseases such as cholera and malaria. Around 400,000 people had to find shelter in emergency accommodation in Borno state in the northeast of the country after heavy rain in mid-September caused a dam to overflow and severe flooding in and around the city of Maiduguri.
The shelters are mostly in schools with too few latrines and a lack of clean drinking water, warns MSF. “The number of children suffering from malaria and acute watery diarrhea was already increasing before the flood, and we have seen some children with clinical signs of cholera since the flood,” said Issaley Abdel Kader, head of the MSF mission in Nigeria. We fear that the number of cases will continue to rise if medical and humanitarian support, particularly in the areas of water, sanitation and hygiene, is not increased.”
West and Central Africa are currently experiencing the annual rainy season, which has been characterized by particularly heavy rainfall this year. Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Chad have also experienced flooding. According to aid organizations, more than 4.4 million people in the six countries have been affected by flooding – more than three times as many as last year. According to the latest government figures, at least 269 people have died in Nigeria, at least 487 in Chad, at least 322 in Niger and at least 64 in Mali.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240923-930-240995/1
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