By Our Reporter
The United Nations has issued a warning about a potential cholera outbreak in emergency Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps in Maiduguri, Borno State, due to recent flooding in the area.
According to a report from the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the immediate needs include food, protection, shelter, and clean water. Contaminated water sources increase the risk of cholera and other diseases. The report highlights the urgent need for non-food items and disease prevention measures in congested sites. Flooding has also impacted nutrition stabilization centers treating severely malnourished children in MMC and Jere LGAs.
Floods have affected various areas beyond MMC and Jere, including the Dalwa community in Damboa LGA, Bama, and Gwoza LGAs. Since August, nearly 123,000 people in Borno State have been affected by floods and windstorms, which have damaged critical infrastructure and heightened disease outbreak risks, particularly in overcrowded IDP camps.
In Maiduguri, heavily impacted areas include Gwange, Bama Road, Maiduguri Zoo, Post Office, State Secretariat, Lagos Street, Shehu’s Palace, Maiduguri Main Market, Customs/Gamboru, Budum, and Specialist Hospital. State Lowcost and Shikari areas are on high alert due to flooding, and some residents are relocating along Muna Road. Additionally, two UN guesthouses are currently inaccessible due to the floods.
In Adamawa and Yobe states, flooding has affected over 12,500 and 46,600 people, respectively. There are concerns that water from the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon, which has been damaged by heavy rains, might worsen the situation, although no official notification has been received from Cameroonian authorities. Nationwide, floods in Nigeria have claimed over 200 lives and impacted more than 800,000 people across 29 states, according to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
Borno State has the highest number of affected and displaced individuals as of September 9. Other severely impacted states include Bauchi