175 dead, 10,000 hospitalised as Cholera hits North-East

Norwegian Refugee Council, NRC, says cholera has killed 175 people in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states, leaving about 10,000 people hospitalised.

File: children play in dirty water in cholera-stricken area REUTERS It attributed the cholera outbreak to crowded internally-displaced persons, IDP, camps and host communities.

In a statement yesterday, Janet Chenero, NRC Programme Manager, said there was urgent need for improved hygiene facilities to combat the deadly cholera outbreaks, adding that congestion in camps had made it difficult to provide adequate water, sanitation and hygiene services.
She added that the rainy season had also worsened the conditions in camps and host communities.
Her words: “Number of displaced persons affected by cholera has shot up to 10,000. The disease is spreading quickly in congested IDP camps with limited access to proper sanitation facilities.”
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She called on the authorities to provide more space in camps and host communities for the construction of new water and sanitation facilities.
“If more land is not urgently provided for camp de-congestion and construction of health and sanitation facilities, Nigeria is steering towards yet another cholera outbreak in 2019,” she said.
Meanwhile, the International Organisation for Migration, IOM, said Maiduguri has the highest concentration of IDPs, with 243,000 camp-like settlements and crowded host communities.
The organisation said as a result of the concentration, the displaced persons defecate in the open, which in turn causes water borne diseases.
Source: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/11/175-dead-10000-hospitalised-as-cholera-hits-north-east/