Over 10,000 IDP Arrivals Cause Humanitarian Disaster In Nigerias Bama Town - NGO

Over 10,000 IDP Arrivals Cause Humanitarian Disaster in Nigerias Bama Town - NGO

The town of Bama in Nigeria's northeastern state of Borno has been negatively affected by a critical humanitarian situation, caused by the influx of over 10,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) amid an economic crisis and violence across the country, the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) NGO said Friday.

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th August, 2018) The town of Bama in Nigeria's northeastern state of Borno has been negatively affected by a critical humanitarian situation, caused by the influx of over 10,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) amid an economic crisis and violence across the country, the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) NGO said Friday.

"Since April 2018, more than 10,000 people have arrived in the Government Science Secondary school (GSSS) camp in the town; many are in poor health � In the GSSS camp, shelter and healthcare assistance has not kept pace with the growing population and people continue to arrive every day. Intended for a maximum of 25,000 people, the camp reached capacity at the end of July - and there are not enough shelters for everyone," MSF said in a statement.

According to the statement, people arriving in the Bama camp fled areas affected by the economic crisis and where security forces were holding offensives against militants.

MSF also noted that people staying in the camp lacked assistance, shelter, household utensils and drinking water.

The NGO expressed its concern over the high number of deaths among minors in the camp. According to the organization's data, between August 2 and 15, over 30 children died. The total number of children aged under five years, living in the camp, is around 6,000.

"Many children are severely malnourished and suffer from medical complications - they urgently need intensive care and close medical follow-up, as the current rainy season typically sees a spike in the number of patients with malaria and diarrhoeal diseases. The lack of an inpatient nutrition and paediatric health facility in Bama is having catastrophic consequences for children," the statement pointed out.

Moreover, the only hospital in Bama has been shut down, so those seriously ill need to travel to the Borno state capital of Maiduguri for further treatment, which is not feasible for many people since they cannot afford it, according to MSF.

"Measures must be urgently taken to avoid overcrowding and ensure dignified living conditions in the GSSS camp. Secondary and emergency healthcare for both IDPs and the resident population must be scaled up as quickly as possible," Katja Lorenz, MSFs representative in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, said, as quoted in the statement.

The NGO has been present in Borno since 2014, providing medical and humanitarian assistance to the population in state's various settlements. An acute humanitarian emergency situation in Bama was initially registered in 2016.