How cholera outbreak ravages IDP camps in Maiduguri

More than 20 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in camps within the Maiduguri metropolis, Borno State, have so far died in the last two weeks as cholera continues to ravage them. 

Experts have attributed the outbreak of the epidemic to several days of incessant heavy downpour that caused flood at the camps, especially Muna Garage and Lawanti camps, facilitated by very poor drainage system, compounding the already existing poor sanitary condition in the IDP camps bearing the brunt of the ravage. 

Maiduguri metropolis has one of the poorest drainage systems among all its peers nationwide. There is virtually no functioning drainage system in the city.

Experts have identified, as the twin problems of the poor sanitary condition, the gross inadequacy in the provision of sanitary items to the IDPs according to the law establishing their camps globally. This breach of standards by officials and agencies concerned has contributed immensely to creating the squalid conditions in most of the camps.

Compounded also by the poor attitude of a large population of the IDPs to health and sanitation, having come from various environments, most of them as products of pathetically low economic wherewithal, thousands of them crammed in one location, majority of the victims of the epidemic are the IDPs of the Boko Haram violence in the camps.

On Thursday, September 1 alone, 14 deaths were recorded. Since then, the death toll has continued to rise, although not as heavy as the instant 14 of September 1.

As at the time of filing this report, about 200 cases were received and admitted in various treatment centres, most of them IDPs, at the Muna Garage IDP camp in Maiduguri.

The city of Maiduguri has doubled in size since the start of the conflict with Boko Haram some eight years ago, with its population rising to well over two million due to influxes of displaced people who have been chased out of their communities from across Borno State. 

The IDPs who fled from Boko Haram insurgency live in camps where they lack sufficient food and are at risk of contracting diseases like malaria and other poor sanitation induced diseases, in environments that facilitate outbreak and spread of epidemics.

Some of the victims who spoke with Daily Trust said they have never experienced such outbreaks even in their remote communities. They, however, attributed the menace to dirty environment and lack of good water.

Halimat Shehu, a mother of four, an IDP from Kala Balge Local Government Area, whose children were down with cholera, said: “Within four hours he had vomited severally, so we took him to MSF (Medicine San Frontiers) tents, but before I came back the younger girls also started, we had never experienced such in our village. But people told me that it is because our vicinity is dirty.”

One of the patients, Modu Abu, 12,  receiving treatment at the Emergency Response Centre opened by the Borno State Ministry of Health at Muna Garage Centre said “today is my sixth day here, I am getting better, I was brought here half dead; now I am feeling better.”

The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Haruna Mshellia, also confirmed the death toll of 14, and a total number of suspected cholera cases of 186 and that a response centre had been established to manage the outbreak.

Dr Haruna said government and NGOs are now working to improve sanitation, including better water purification and providing extra latrines, in a bid to prevent new cases.

In response to the outbreak, the United Nations has opened an emergency hospital in the camp and patients are currently being admitted in two facilities.

Officials of the World Health Organisation, UNICEF and the Borno State Ministry of Health are all currently on ground and patients are being attended to.

The Medical Coordinator of MSF, Anna Cillers, in an exclusive interview with Daily Trust said that their facility for combating the outbreak was growing everyday as a result of the continuous inflow of more cases. 

She also revealed that a total of 312 patients were admitted, 194 were cured and discharged, and  four were transferred to other health facilities.

“The facility is growing, as a result we are scaling up. We started with 50 beds, as at last Monday we had more than 100 beds because it is growing everyday but there is need for additional beds, we will do that.”

She noted that MSF set up a CTU in Dala earlier this year in anticipation of a potential outbreak. Since last weekend, they witnessed a steady increase in the number of patients at our treatment centre and at the re-hydration point in Muna camp.

“MSF is also setting up re-hydration points in places where new cases are being reported and is sharing its medical expertise by training state health workers and those from the World Health Organisation (WHO) in prevention and control methods,” Anna said.

Experts said much still needs to be done in the area of sanitation and hygiene, especially campaign against open defecation in the camp. 

Also, there is the paramount need for the provision of clean and drinkable water at the IDP camps. 

As long as the insurgency continues, IDPs will continue to inhabit camps, and their environments must be kept clean and healthy according to standards.

They said massive enlightenment must be mounted across the camps by government, as well as all national and international agencies and NGOs concerned, to properly sensitise the IDPs on the need for sanitation and good hygiene.