Save the Children International (SCI) Nigeria says that over 150,000 children have been displaced by flooding in Borno State and are in dire need of humanitarian assistance.
The Country Director of SCI, Duncan Harvey, made the disclosure Wednesday in Abuja while briefing newsmen about his visit to Maiduguri to evaluate the situation and provide assistance to the affected population.
He said that over 300,000 people had been registered in at least 26 relocation sites as of 14 September, adding that up to 30 sites had been set up, while registration was ongoing.
He said, “So we can estimate that around 150,000 of the people living in those camps are children, and therefore that’s a very real cause of concern. We need to protect those children, provide them with health and nutrition, make sure they have access to clean water, and also ensure that they have appropriate care in place.”
He said more than 400,000 persons were affected by the floods in the state with 37 deaths and 58 people injured. He said Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps were overcrowded and unsanitary, noting that the scale of partners’ services was not keeping up with the numbers.
The SCI country director said that the flooding happened at the height of a food and nutrition crises, lamenting that “in addition to the immediate need for food and clean water for IDPs, water- borne diseases and malaria are major risks. Open defecation in the camps is widespread.”
He called on Borno State and the federal governments to ensure that humanitarian actors are supported and encouraged with enabling approaches and systems that help speed up response programme for children, families and communities in urgent need.
He said SCI was providing urgent rescue service, life-saving response and rehabilitation for the affected communities in the state.
“SCI’s urgent response plan to the crises includes but not limited to Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance (MPCA) to the affected households, setting up health and nutrition outreach services to the affected households, rehabilitation of sanitation facilities, and conducting hygiene promotion and community awareness, child protection in emergencies through setting up mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) help desk to provide psychological first aid and psychological support to children and caregivers in the camp among others,” Harvey said.
He stated that SCI was also working in collaboration with the state government and other humanitarian actors.