MAIDUGURI
\nPeople in Nigeria\u2019s flood-hit northeastern Borno state are struggling to get medical care as overwhelmed aid agencies warn of an outbreak of waterborne disease following the worst floods to hit the region in three decades.
\nMore than 30 people have been killed by the floods, which authorities say affected about one million people, most of whom are housed in camps without food and clean water.
\nThe deluge threatens not only the health and safety of the displaced but puts a strain on aid agencies and government resources, exacerbating an already critical humanitarian crisis.
\nThe floods in Borno, the birthplace of Boko Haram militants in the Lake Chad basin, started when a dam burst its walls following heavy rainfall that has also caused floods in Cameroon, Chad, Mali and Niger, all part of Africa\u2019s Sahel region that usually receives little rain.
\nIn the last two weeks of August, more than 1.5 million people were displaced across 12 countries in West and Central Africa due to floods, and about 465 have been killed, according to the United Nations humanitarian affairs office.
\nOver the weekend, an additional 50,000 people were displaced in northeastern Nigeria as the floods intensified, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said on Monday.
\n\u201cThe situation in the Sahel and Lake Chad region is increasingly dire, as the compounding effects of conflict, displacement and climate change take a severe toll on vulnerable populations,\u201d said Hassane Hamadou, NRC\u2019s Central and West Africa regional director. The floods in West Africa come at a time of flooding in Europe after days of torrential rain that caused rivers to burst their banks in several parts of the region.
\nIn a camp in Maiduguri, Borno\u2019s state capital, Bintu Amadu was among hundreds of frustrated people waiting for hours to see a doctor because her son had diarrhea.
\n\u201cWe have not received any aid, and our attempts to see a doctor have been unsuccessful. We have been waiting for medical attention since yesterday, but to no avail,\u201d she said.
\nRamatu Yajubu was happy she had obtained an appointment card after waiting for days, but quickly added: \u201cI am uncertain about receiving attention due to the overwhelming number of people seeking care.\u201d
\nMathias Goemaere, a field coordinator for Medecins Sans Frontieres, said that even before the floods, residents in Borno were struggling with malnutrition, following years of an Islamist insurgency that has driven people from their farms.
\n\u201cThey are exposed to their environment, so what do we see? A lot of waterborne diseases, diarrhea, diarrheal diseases … Malaria is around with a lot of mosquitoes,\u201d Goemaere told Reuters.
\n\u201cSo a lot of people, because of malnutrition, are immuno-suppressed, which makes them more susceptible to diseases.\u201d
\nNigeria\u2019s government has separately warned of rising water levels in the country\u2019s largest rivers, the Benue and Niger, which could cause floods in the oil-producing Niger Delta region in the south.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MAIDUGURI People in Nigeria\u2019s flood-hit northeastern Borno state are struggling to get medical care as overwhelmed aid agencies warn of an outbreak of waterborne disease following the worst floods to hit the region in three decades. More than 30 people have been killed by the floods, which authorities say affected about one million people, most […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":431703,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-431689","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n