The United Nations has sounded yet another warning about the looming disaster in the overcrowded Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in Maiduguri, Borno State. The trigger? Flooding, another round of floods, because, of course, that’s exactly what the region, already plagued by insurgency, really needed right now.
What They Are saying
According to a report from the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the camps are at serious risk of a cholera outbreak. Why? Well, when floodwaters mix with contaminated water sources and overcrowded living conditions, what could possibly go wrong, right? Food, shelter, and clean water are now at the top of the list of immediate needs, with disease prevention trailing not too far behind. But let’s not forget, it’s not just cholera lurking around the corner, it’s a potential multi-disease fest in waiting.
The report painted a bad picture: “The immediate needs are food, shelter, and clean water, with some water sources already contaminated. Protection remains a critical issue, particularly for vulnerable groups such as unaccompanied children, older persons, and individuals living with disabilities.”
But that’s not all. Non-food items and disease-prevention strategies are now crucial in preventing cholera outbreaks in the congested sites. The floods have already wreaked havoc on nutrition stabilization centers in the Maiduguri Metropolitan Council (MMC) and Jere Local Government Areas (LGAs), where severely malnourished children were being treated.
Why It Matters
And it’s not just MMC and Jere on high alert. Dalwa in Damboa LGA, as well as Bama and Gwoza LGAs, are also in the flood’s crosshairs. Over 123,000 people in Borno State alone have been affected by flooding since August, and it’s only getting worse. Critical infrastructure has been washed away, and the overcrowded IDP camps have become breeding grounds for diseases.
As if that wasn’t enough, Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states are also caught in the grip of a food and nutrition crisis, affecting a staggering 4.8 million people. Out of those, 230,000 children are at risk of severe acute malnutrition. That’s nearly a quarter of a million children facing life-threatening hunger while the floodwaters rise.
In Maiduguri, the most affected areas read like a depressing tour guide: Gwange, Bama Road, Maiduguri Zoo, State Secretariat, Lagos Street, Shehu’s Palace, the Maiduguri Main Market, Customs/Gamboru areas, Budum, Specialist Hospital, and the Post Office area. If it sounds like half the city is underwater, well, it kind of is. The State Lowcost area is teetering on the edge, while Shikari general area is already flooded, pushing more people to flee along Muna Road. If you’re wondering where everyone is going, well, nowhere fast, because the roads themselves are impassable.
Even the UN isn’t immune to the chaos. Two of its guesthouses are currently inaccessible due to flooding. Meanwhile, other states across the country like Bauchi, Bayelsa, Enugu, Jigawa, Kano, Niger, Sokoto, and Zamfara are similarly drowning in floodwaters.
And what about Nigeria’s struggling farmers? The floods have obliterated tens of thousands of hectares of farmland just ahead of harvest season.
As if food inflation wasn’t already sky-high, now we can look forward to even more price hikes. According to the UN, the damage to crops will only deepen the already alarming levels of food insecurity in the country. More than 32 million people in Nigeria are currently battling severe food shortages, as highlighted in the March 2024 Cadre Harmonisé report.
Bottom Line
So, while floodwaters sweep through communities, destroying lives and livelihoods, the UN and its partners are valiantly “activating business continuity plans” to ensure critical services continue. It’s commendable, of course, but it feels like trying to plug a sinking ship with Band-Aids.
