Ebola Virus Resurgence in Nigeria May Likely Occur Soon

[jchima]

As Nigeria awaits the official certification as an Ebola-free country by the World Health Organisation (WHO) after it successfully contained the outbreak of the deadly viral disease, fears are rife that some visible lapses in the preventive efforts could reverse the gains made in this regards.

This is the outcome of investigations carried out by Sunday Independent, which revealed that the Federal Ministry of Education could be the culprit here.
Source: Why Ebola Virus Resurgence in Nigeria May Likely Occur Soon - eReporter

 

[waltky]

'Humanitarian Catastrophe' Developing in Nigeria’s Northeast...

'Humanitarian Catastrophe' Looms in Nigeria’s Northeast
July 08, 2016 — Aid agencies warned on Friday that malnutrition has grown so rife in Nigeria’s war-torn northeast that part of the region could already be in a famine.

The United Nations says 4.4 million people in the northeast are “severely food insecure” due to the ongoing war between Boko Haram and the military of Nigeria and its neighbors. Parts that are too dangerous or otherwise cut off from aid agencies could already be in a famine, a report from the Famine Early Warning Systems Network said. “If we do not intervene, it’s going to be a humanitarian catastrophe,” said Sory Ouane, acting Nigeria country director for the World Food Program.

Boy suffering from severe acute malnutrition at a UNICEF nutrition clinic in the Muna informal settlement, which houses nearly 16,000 internally displaced people in the outskirts of Maiduguri, capital of Borno State, northeastern Nigeria​

States cut from aid

The fight against Boko Haram in northeastern Nigeria has gone on since 2009 and drawn in neighboring Chad, Cameroon and Niger. Over 20,000 people have been killed and 2.7 million forced to flee, with many ending up in squalid displaced persons camps in Cameroon or in Nigerian cities such as Maiduguri, Bama and Yola. Starting in 2014, the militants began overrunning towns and cities in the northeast.

Borno State and Sambisa Forest​

Nigeria’s military has pushed the insurgents out of most of the areas they captured. But the months of fighting have cut parts of the northeastern Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states from aid. Ouane blamed the fighting and ensuing disruptions in farms and marketplaces for the food insecurity. As more areas of the northeast become accessible to aid agencies, Ouane expects the need for food assistance to grow. “We are highly concerned about the rising number of people facing hunger as their needs become clear,” Ouane said.

Six die daily from disease, malnutrition

Last month, Doctors Without Borders said as many as six people were dying daily from disease and malnutrition at a displaced persons camp in Bama. A National Emergency Management Agency official said many of the worst cases of malnutrition at the camp were people who had recently arrived from areas where no humanitarian assistance was available.

A doctor attends to a malnourished child at a refugee camp in Yola, Nigeria. Doctors Without Borders says nearly 200 refugees from Boko Haram have died of starvation and dehydration in the city of Bama in the past month.​

The WFP aims to get food assistance to 431,000 people by the end of the year, Ouane said, but that could increase to 700,000 if the need grows as aid agencies access more areas. “If we manage to reach them, we will contribute greatly to stabilize their nutrition status and their food security situation,” Ouane said.

'Humanitarian Catastrophe' Looms in Nigeria’s Northeast

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Thousands Flee Central African Republic to Escape Escalating Violence
July 08, 2016 — The United Nations refugee agency reports thousands of people in the Central African Republic (CAR) are fleeing to Chad and Cameroon to escape increasing violence in their country.

The UNHCR reports more than 5,600 refugees from have fled to Chad and another 555 to Cameroon since mid-June. This latest exodus comes barely six months after the election of President Faustin Archange Touadera. The election ushered in hopes of lasting peace after three years of warfare that left thousands dead and nearly one million displaced. UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming says the hopes, for now, appear to have been dashed.

She tells VOA the current exodus of refugees began on June 12 when clashes re-ignited between livestock herders and local farmers in northwest C.A.R. “What is disturbing here is that the two opposing militias, the Seleka and anti-Balaka, are now joining in this clash and fighting each other," said Fleming. "So, this is becoming something that could have wider implications and could spread further."

A herder is seen standing with his cattle near the town of Bouar, Central African Republic​

Fleming says the country is very fragile and there are growing fears that these clashes could unleash a greater wave of refugees fleeing to neighboring countries. “We are concerned that things are still tense, that there are flashpoints within CAR, and that we need to keep an eye on it and that there are people who are fleeing for their lives and who are in need and are reporting terrible atrocities — killings, kidnappings, lootings, torching of their homes,” Fleming said.

The UNHCR says its humanitarian operation for more than 300,000 CAR refugees in Chad and Cameroon is in financial trouble. It says this new influx of refugees is adding to the difficulties. The agency has appealed for $225 million to provide life-saving assistance to the refugees this year. It only has received 11 percent or $24.7million of what it needs.

Fears grow clashes in CAR could unleash greater wave of refugees fleeing to neighboring countries