Borno state, in northeastern Nigeria, has been severely impacted by recent floods, which have displaced more than 400 000 people and led to 37 deaths. The flooding, mostly affecting the municipal area of Maiduguri, the state’s capital, has also caused significant damage to agricultural land and infrastructure, including health facilities. Almost 90 000 vulnerable people have been forced to take shelter in temporary camps with limited access to food, clean water and health services.
Displaced populations are at especially high risk from malnutrition, and diseases such as cholera, malaria and measles, in a region where already fragile health systems are under considerable additional strain.
Aisha Mafa, a mother of five, relocated to Gubio camp on the outskirts of Maiduguri, after floods displaced her family from their home in Old Maiduguri district in September 2024. Soon afterwards, one of her children fell ill with a high fever. "My friends advised me to take him to the clinic at the camp, where services were free," Mafa recalls.
Recognizing the urgent health needs of displaced people, World Health Organization (WHO), with financial support from USAID and the Government of Germany, deployed five mobile health teams comprising 35 public health experts, to assist local health authorities in Gubio, as well as four other temporary camps in Maiduguri municipal area.
The health workers quickly diagnosed Mafa’s son with malaria and provided treatment. Within days, his condition has improved. "Without the health workers, I don’t know what would have happened to my son," Mafa says. “I take comfort to know that my children and I can get free health services here.”
“Since we started, we’ve treated around 9000 people,” says Martha Sini, the Local Government Area Facilitator for the mobile health team in Gubio camp, which is currently home to more than 36 000 displaced people. “Routine immunization, maternal care and clinical services are vital for protecting the health of the community, especially women and children.”
Children in temporary camps like Gubio are at particularly high risk from vaccine-preventable diseases. To address this, mobile health teams have conducted regular vaccination drives, reaching over 12 300 children since the start of the floods in mid-September 2024. Vaccines include those recommended in the current state routine immunization schedule and coverage includes children who have missed doses because of being displaced.
Such efforts have been integrated into the state government’s existing cholera, measles and vitamin A vaccination campaigns, ensuring more comprehensive protection for these vulnerable populations.
Maternal health is another key focus for the mobile health teams. In Gubio camp’s two-room clinic, health teams provide prenatal check-ups, postpartum care, routine immunization and nutritional support to pregnant women while educating them on the importance of skilled birth attendance. Since the start of the floods, these services have been integral to helping to ensure safe pregnancies and deliveries for over 20 000 displaced women in the absence of hospital access.
Huawa Ali, who is seven months pregnant and was displaced by the floods from her home in the Gwange district of Maiduguri, is one of the many health clients to visit the antenatal clinic. “I am so grateful for this care. Without it, I wouldn’t have known if my baby was safe. Now, I feel more confident about my pregnancy,” she says.
Beyond immediate medical care, WHO also supports Borno state in enhancing surveillance activities. Over 150 community health volunteers have been deployed to conduct active case finding for priority diseases and house-to-house sensitization to improve health-seeking behaviour within the camps and host communities.
So far, 34 camps and over 93 000 households have been reached and sensitized on preventive measures for epidemic-prone diseases and good household practices.
"For the families in temporary camps, the presence of our mobile health teams offers more than just medical care, it provides hope for a healthier future, for their children’s well-being, and hope that they will overcome the challenges of displacement,” says Dr Walter Mulombo, WHO Representative for Nigeria.
Monday, November 18, 2024
Delivering lifesaving health services for flood-displaced families in Nigeria
India says Nigeria is 'natural' partner as Modi visits
New Delhi said Modi's trip represented a meeting of the largest democracy in the world and the largest one in Africa, dubbing the two as "natural partners."
The visit comes amid a revived push by both India and Nigeria for permanent representation on the UN Security Council and as India seeks to find its place in a multipolar world.
"Together we will also continue to highlight at the global level the priorities of the Global South and thanks to our joint efforts, we will achieve success as well in this," Modi said.
During the meeting, both leaders said they sought to usher in a new chapter in the two countries' relationship in the areas of defense, energy, technology, trade and development.
Modi and Tinubu also pledged greater collaboration in counterterrorism, maritime security and intelligence sharing. It is meant to help both countries cope with growing threats in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Guinea, which is one of the world's most dangerous areas for piracy.
New title for Modi in Nigeria
Modi was welcomed to the Nigerian presidency by a military pipe band and honor guard, before entering closed-door talks with Tinubu and senior officials at his Aso Rock residence.
The Nigerian president conferred on Modi the title of the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger, the country's second-highest national honor, describing Modi as a representation of a "very strong commitment to democratic values and norms."
"Nigeria values its excellent relationship with India and will work to broaden the same for the mutual benefits of our two friendly countries," Tinubu said.
As Africa has become a theatre of competition between the US, Europe, as well as Russia, Turkey and especially China, India too has sought to make some inroads in the continent.
Ahead of the trip, Modi's office boasted that more than 200 Indian companies had invested $27 billion (€25.6 billion) in Nigerian manufacturing, becoming major employers.
Nigeria is also India's largest trading partner in Africa with total bilateral trade estimated at $14.9 billion in 2022.
At least 60,000 Indian nationals and 200 Indian companies are present in Nigeria, authorities say.
Friday, November 15, 2024
Nigeria lifts oil production to 1.8 million barrels per day
Nigeria's state oil firm NNPC said on Thursday it had increased oil production to 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd), with the possibility of getting to two million bpd by year-end.
Oil production at Africa's top crude exporter was estimated at 1.3 million bpd in October, according to producer group OPEC's latest report. Nigeria often counts condensate production of around 250,000 bpd as part of its production.
The NNPC said the increase was a result of collaborative efforts with its joint venture operators and its partners on production-sharing contracts, alongside security agencies and the government.
"The team has done a great job in driving this project of not just production recovery but also escalating production to expected levels that are in the short and long terms acceptable to our shareholders," NNPC CEO Mele Kyari told a press briefing.
Nigeria has been battling crude theft in its Niger Delta production region, sabotage, and local unrest, which has hampered output growth.
In June, NNPC set up a 'war room' to coordinate efforts of oil partners, the government and private security personnel to stem crude theft. Since then, several vessels used in stealing crude have been destroyed and some illegal refiners arrested.
Kyari said the interventions across every segment of the production chain, supported by rigorous pipeline monitoring from security agencies, had been critical to the recovery.
By Camillus Eboh, Reuters
Convicted Nigerian Pirate Charged Again for Second Hijacking
A Nigerian pirate who was convicted and sentenced for hijacking a Dutch freighter has been charged again in connection with a previous piracy incident in 2017.
The case has been in motion for more than six years. South African police arrested pirate action group leader Itoruboemi Benson Lobia at an airport in Johannesburg in late 2018, acting on an Interpol warrant issued by the Netherlands. A South African court approved his extradition, and in 2022, a Dutch court convicted Lobia of the hijacking and kidnapping attack aboard the FWN Rapide. The Dutch-flagged freighter was attacked by pirates off Port Harcourt in 2018, and the criminals held the 11 crewmembers hostage during a month-long series of ransom negotiations. The operator, ForestWave, reportedly paid a ransom of $340,000 to secure the release of the crew - a fraction of the $2 million reportedly sought by Lobia.
The Rotterdam District Court ruled that Lobia was the operational leader of the hijacking gang, and he was sentenced to a term of 8.5 years in Dutch prison for the FWN Rapide attack. He may yet receive a longer penalty: Last week, he was "arrested" a second time while in prison, and he will be tried on additional charges related to an earlier hijacking - the attack on the German merchant ship BBC Caribbean.
On February 5, 2017, BBC Caribbean was operating off Nigeria when she was boarded by armed pirates, who abducted eight members of the crew. The hostages were transferred back to Nigeria in skiffs and hidden at a compound in the creeks of the Niger Delta. Several crewmembers managed to hide and evade capture aboard the ship, and they navigated the BBC Caribbean safely to Las Palmas, 2,500 nautical miles to the northwest.
After a month of hostage negotiations, which the pirates reportedly spent in a state of constant and severe inebriation, the kidnapped crewmembers were ransomed and released. The amount of the payment was not disclosed.
Meanwhile, the BBC Caribbean was searched on arrival at Las Palmas, and forensic investigators collected extensive evidence - including fingerprints and DNA traces from cigarette butts. One set of DNA eventually turned up a positive match: it was Lobia's.
The Dutch Public Prosecution Service and the National Expertise and Operations Unit (LX) launched a second investigation after finding this link, and have asked authorities in South Africa - where Lobia was first arrested - for permission to prosecute him a second time for the additional crime. An examining magistrate granted a custody order to start the case last Thursday.
Nigeria Declares Nivea Deodorant Free From Harmful Chemicals
Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has published an update to an alert notifying Nigerians of a recall for Nivea’s Black&White Invisible roll-on deodorant. The regulatory body has now declared that products manufactured in Nigeria are safe to use.
According to a report published by The Cable, an investigation carried out by the regulatory body found that the product in question manufactured in Nigeria does not contain the non-compliant ingredient BMHCA.
Beiersdorf clarified, per The Cable, that the batch subject to the recall expired in January 2022, was fully compliant with EU regulations at the time, and has not been marketed in Nigeria. The deodorant has since been reformulated to be Lilial-free following the ingredient’s 2022 ban.
By Georgina Caldwell, Global Cosmetic News
Related story: Nestle accused of adding sugar to infant formulas in Nigeria