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Over 90,000 people infected with Cholera across Nigeria – MSF

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MSF Calls for Agent Scale-Up of Humanitarian Intervention to Avert Severe Malnutrition in Borno

Over 90,000 people infected with Cholera across Nigeria – MSF

By: James Bwala, Maiduguri

About 400km northeast of the Nigerian capital Abuja, a two-year-old Mohammad Sheriff is on the road to recovery from cholera. The child sits with his father in MSF’s cholera treatment centre (CTC) in Bauchi, the capital of one of the states hit hardest by Nigeria’s worst cholera outbreak in a decade.


“He vomited twice and later started having diarrhoea,” says Mohammad’s father, who immediately recognised the symptoms as cholera. “I told his mother that I’d take him to the hospital as we are constantly being informed through the radio that one should immediately go to the hospital when vomiting and diarrhoea starts.”


A statement from Abdulkareem Yakubu, MSF Field Communications Officer on Monday said Cholera is simple to treat in most cases, and people with mild to moderate forms of the disease usually recover through treatment with fluids and oral rehydration solution. Severely dehydrated patients may need to be admitted to a CTC and be given fluids intravenously.

Mohammed’s case was serious, but after two days of receiving medical care in the CTC, he is now in the recovery ward – the last step before being discharged and returning home. “If we had not come when we did, the situation might have been very bad,” his father says.

Over 90,000 people infected with Cholera across Nigeria – MSF


Cholera is endemic in Nigeria, but the outbreak this year has been especially severe, with more than 90,000 people infected so far. While nearly all of Nigeria’s 36 states have reported cholera cases in 2021, the vast majority have been concentrated in the six northern states of Bauchi, Kano, Jigawa, Zamfara, Sokoto and Katsina.


The population of this region is already extremely vulnerable; hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced from their homes by conflict and violence, and most live in conditions with poor sanitation and no safe drinking water.

But the MSF emergency teams working alongside the Nigerian Ministry of Health are trying to bring the spiralling outbreak under control, opening six cholera treatment centres across the region and treating more than 20,000 patients so far.  


In many areas, security poses an additional challenge. In Zamfara state, many patients arrive in a serious or critical condition, having delayed seeking treatment for fear of encountering violence or danger on the roads.


“Vulnerable populations in Nigeria were already in a dire situation,” says Dr Simba Tirima, MSF country representative in Nigeria. “Cholera has added to a complex web of medical and humanitarian vulnerabilities, coming on top of heightened insecurity, a chronic state of acute humanitarian and medical needs, and the direct and secondary impacts of COVID-19.”

Also Read: THE NEED TO LOOK AT THINGS DIFFERENTLY FOR A CHANGE  


At the peak of the outbreak in July, the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control reported more than 7,500 new cases per week and many medical facilities were at risk of being overwhelmed.


“We had to admit 80 or 90 patients during a single work shift,” says Anas Al-Hassan, a nurse at MSF’s CTC in Kano, where the outbreak spread quickly throughout the community. “There was no time for rest because of the number of patients. The work at that time was overwhelming.”


“The patients would come devastated, their caregivers worried they might not make it,” says Philip Esenwa, MSF medical activity manager for the Nigeria Emergency Response Unit. “Some were so weak that they couldn’t speak.”

“We used to have patients who were brought in dead,” says MSF nurse supervisor Mustapha Mahmud, who also works at Kano CTC.

Over 90,000 people infected with Cholera across Nigeria – MSF


The challenges were immense in cities such as Kano and Bauchi, where many people live in overcrowded conditions, with dilapidated or non-existent sewage systems and no access to clean drinking water. Water sources can easily become contaminated with sewage, especially in the rainy season, causing waterborne diseases such as cholera to spread quickly.


“The areas with high numbers of cholera cases are congested, with no adequate ventilation or proper drainage,” says Mustapha Mahmud. “The sources of water are usually from shallow wells and boreholes; with rainfall, they become contaminated, and that is the water people here drink.”


Many medical facilities in these areas are also poorly equipped and were unable to deal with the surge in patients. Some medical facilities charge for their services, which put treatment out of reach of those who could not afford to pay.

In some states, a one-dose oral vaccine is available to help reduce the spread of the disease. However, global supply is limited and the vaccine is not available in all states. 

Over 90,000 people infected with Cholera across Nigeria – MSF

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Eid-el-Kabir: IPCR Calls on Nigerians to Peace, Harmony

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Eid-el-Kabir: IPCR Calls on Nigerians to Peace, Harmony

By: Michael Mike

Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) has called on Nigerians to promote peace and harmony in their communities, recognizing that peace is essential to national development and progress.

The advice was given by the Director General of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), Dr. Joseph Ochogwu, in his message on Eid-el-Kabir.

The Institute, while extending warm greetings to Nigerians, wished them a joyous and peaceful celebration, marked by love, compassion, and unity.

The Institute while noting that Sallah is a significant occasion in the Islamic calendar, symbolizing the values of sacrifice, gratitude, and community, emphasized that the spirit of Sallah should guide Nigerians in their interactions with one another, fostering a culture of peace, tolerance, and understanding.

The IPCR urged Nigerians to promote peace and harmony in their communities, recognizing that peace is essential to national development and progress, while
encouraging individuals to embrace the values of Sallah, including forgiveness, empathy, and kindness, in their daily lives.

According to IPCR, peace is critical to promoting national stability and cohesion.

The Institute also urged Nigerians to use this period of Sallah celebration to address conflicts and promote dialogue, which could help to build trust and understanding among Nigerians and also contribute to a more peaceful society.

It recognized that the country’s many ethnic and religious groups can work together to build a more harmonious society, celebrating their differences and promoting a culture of tolerance.
End

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Community Leader Seeks Tinubu’s Urgent Intervention in Incessant Plateau Killing

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Community Leader Seeks Tinubu’s Urgent Intervention in Incessant Plateau Killing

By: Michael Mike

A community leader and the Waziri Mushere of Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State, Chief Yohana Margif has expressed dismay over the incessant killing of innocent citizens of the community.

Margif made this known in an interview with journalists on Thursday in Abuja.

He called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently intervene to halt what he described as genocide against the people, which he said was being perpetrated by suspected herdsmen.

Margif also called on Malam Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser, and other security chiefs in the country, to rein in the alleged culprits.

He said: “I would like to draw the attention of the topmost leadership in Nigeria to the deteriorating dire security situation in Plateau, particularly in Mushere Chiefdom of Bokkos LGA.

“I urge President Tinubu to take immediate decisive action to halt these endless and senseless killings, protect lives and properties, and secure the future of the Mushere people, and other victims of obvious genocide against the people.

“Herdsmen are killing our innocent people, burning their homes, looting their foodstuff, property, livestock, and taking over their ancestral lands,” he said.

According to the Abuja-based real estate mogul, the attacks and attendant killings have intensified recently since the onset of this year’s farming season.

Margif further said that the people had been displaced from their villages and ancestral homes and were forced to become internally displaced persons in the country.

He emphasised that the situation required immediate intervention by all stakeholders in order to prevent further escalation and inflict an irredeemable harm by wiping out the entire community from the surface of the earth.

He lamented that: “Since President Tinubu’s administration began, Plateau State has witnessed an unprecedented escalation of violence and loss of lives.

“This is the current sad reality. Our people are constantly under the threat of the enemy’s bullets and can’t sleep with two eyes closed due to the perpetual unleashing of violence against them by external forces.

“Something urgent must be done to stem the tide of violence and end this war against the people in order not to
harm this administration’s reputation,” Margif said.

In the past couple of days, suspected herdsmen militia killed no fewer than 35 people in the localities of Hokk, Pangkap, Fokoldep, Kopmur, Margif, Horop, Mbor, Mushere and Kwahas localities in Mushere Chiefdom.

Chairman, Bokkos Community Peace Observers, Kefas Mallai, who confirmed the killings to newsmen, said the victims included a 70-year-old Pastor of COCIN LCC Kwakas-Mushere, Mimang Lekyil, who was attacked and killed in the church.

He said that the pastor’s wife was also shot in the leg and was admitted at the Jos University Teaching Hospital for treatment, he said.

“Bokkos has never been this insecure, with the people being butchered as we are currently witnessing,” Lilian Madaki, from the Mushere community told journalists.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Emmanuel Adesina, also confirmed the incident in a statement saying security forces including police and military personnel, had been deployed in the affected communities.

Community Leader Seeks Tinubu’s Urgent Intervention in Incessant Plateau Killing

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VP Shettima Leads Mourners At Funeral Prayers For Late Prof. Jibril Aminu

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VP Shettima Leads Mourners At Funeral Prayers For Late Prof. Jibril Aminu

** Says Nigeria has lost an intellectual giant

By: Our Reporter

Vice President Kashim Shettima today led other Muslim faithful for the Jana’iza (funeral prayers) of the late elder statesman, renowned medical scholar and former Minister of Education and Petroleum, Prof. Jibril Aminu, at the National Mosque in Abuja.

Prof. Aminu, a one-time President of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (OPEC), passed on in Abuja on Thursday after a prolonged illness.

The Vice President, who arrived at the National Mosque at 1:52 pm, commiserated with the family of the deceased and prayed Allah to comfort them and make Aljanna Firdaus the final abode of the late elder statesman.

Noting that the late Prof Aminu’s demise is a great loss to the nation, VP Shettima described the late surgeon, educationist and administrator as a man who saw it all, just as he said the deceased was an intellectual giant who can hardly be replaced.

“It is a very sad loss. Prof Jubril Aminu was the last of the great titans, an iconic figure who enormously contributed to the development of the nation.

“He was variously the Executive Secretary of NUC, Vice Chancellor of the University of Maiduguri and Honourable Minister of various ministries across the country and left his landmarks on the sands of time.

“He is irreplaceable. May Allah grant him Aljanatul Firdaus and give the family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss. His loss is not just to the good people of Adamawa State but to the nation and Africa at large,” the Vice President prayed.

Born in Song, Adamawa in 1939, Prof. Aminu was a towering figure in Nigerian public life.

The late Consultant Cardiologist served the nation in different capacities, including as Federal Minister of Education and later Federal Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (1989–1992), Ambassador of Nigeria to the United States (1999–2003), and Senator representing Adamawa Central (2003–2011).

He was also President of OPEC in 1991 and President of the OPEC Conference between 1991 and 1992 while he was Petroleum Minister.

Other mourners who joined the Vice President at the National Mosque in Abuja for the Jana’iza included former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; Special Adviser to the President on General Duties (Office of the Vice President), Dr. Aliyu Modibbo; former Secretary to the Federal Government, Yayale Ahmed; former Governor of Adamawa State, Admiral Murtala Nyako; former Governor of Gombe State, Senator Danjuma Goje; former Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Buratai (rtd); former Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman; former Minister of State for Health, Dr. Aliyu Idi Hong, among many others.

VP Shettima Leads Mourners At Funeral Prayers For Late Prof. Jibril Aminu

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