Floods: 1.5 million children at risk of waterborne diseases, malnutrition, drowning - UNICEF

The United Nations Children International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) said more than 2.5 million Nigerians are in need of humanitarian assistance due to severe flooding across the country.

It added that 1.5 million children are at risk of waterborne diseases, drowning and malnutrition.

In a statement on Friday, the Kano field office of UNICEF said in three states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe in the North-east alone “total of 7,485 cases of cholera and 319 associated deaths were reported as of 12 October.”

“The floods, which have affected 34 out of the 36 states in the country, have displaced 1.3 million people. Over 600 people have lost their lives and over 200,000 houses have either been partially or fully damaged. Cases of diarrhoea and water-borne diseases, respiratory infection, and skin diseases have already been on the rise. As rains are expected to continue for several weeks, humanitarian needs are also expected to rise., the report quoted Christian Munduate, the UNICEF Representative in Nigeria

“Children and adolescents in flood-affected areas are in an extremely vulnerable situation,” she said.

Ms Munduate said children are particularly at risk of being affected by waterborne diseases and emotional psychological distress.

She said UNICEF is working closely with the government and other partners to provide life-saving assistance to those who are most in need.”

Nigeria ranks low on climate change impactThe statement lamented that the (UNICEF) Children’s Climate Risk Index (CCRI) report has tagged Nigeria as ‘extremely high risk of the impacts of climate change

Nigeria is ranked second out of 163 countries.

“Children in ‘extremely high risk’ countries face a deadly combination of exposure to multiple climate and environmental shocks combined with high levels of underlying child vulnerability, due to inadequate essential services, such as water and sanitation, healthcare and education.

To date, UNICEF has supported the government response in three affected States – Jigawa, Niger, and Kaduna, including through the provision of cash assistance, distribution of cholera kits, government-led mobile health teams, temporary learning centres and learning kits and cholera kits.

“With additional support, UNICEF can scale up its response in other states to provide lifesaving medical equipment and essential medicines, chlorination of water and sanitation supplies, as well as to support the prevention of and response to sexual and gender-based violence,” the statement added.

Nigeria is witnessing its most devastating flooding in decades.

In the north of the country, the damage done by widespread flooding has been huge. Thousands of houses have been destroyed and farmlands submerged.

The floods in Kogi have grounded vehicular movement. Kogi is the gateway between the North and South of the country. Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Authority blamed the floods on the fuel scarcity being experienced in Abuja and other parts of the North.

The federal government said over 500 Nigerians have died while 1,411,051 people were affected as a result of the flooding across the country.

Addressing newsmen in Abuja Tuesday, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Nasir Sani – Gwarzo, said, “44,099 houses are partially damaged; 45,249 houses were totally damaged and 76,168 hectares of farmland are partially damaged.