Dear media colleagues,

Today Doctors Without Borders (MSF) shares with you two FRESH TESTIMONIES from survivors of Boko Haram attacks nearly a month after we raised alarm on the critical health and nutrition situation in Nigeria’s Borno State.

The two, describe their struggles and the dire humanitarian conditions prevailing in Borno State where almost 500,000 displaced people are in extreme need of food, water and shelter.

For nearly a year now, many towns and villages around Borno State have been cut off from the outside world while under the control of Boko Haram. They have had no access to food and have had very little or no medical care at all, resulting in severe cases of malnutrition, measles and high mortality rates.

Husseina’s husband was killed by Boko Haram, while Fatima sought refuge in Mairi Kuwait after her village was attacked by Boko Haram. She had to walk for eight hours to come to hospital with her child, because she cannot afford transportation.

REMINDER

MSF Southern Africa launched a NIGERIA EMERGENCY appeal to raise funds in support of expanding our medical emergency relief work in Borno State. We call on South Africans to donate via:

SMS “JOIN” to 41486 to donate R15 per month
Visit www.msf.org.za/donate

Please click on the following links to access the two testimonies:
Husseina’s video clip: https://youtu.be/5FloN1xjbWI
Fatima’s video clip: https://youtu.be/JWs5g4tdJAo

BACKGROUND

Maiduguri
MSF has been working in Maiduguri on a permanent basis since April 2014 working on paediatric and maternal health and nutrition and previously controlled cholera epidemics on several occasions.

Today more than 1.2 million IDP are living in Maiduguri, most of them within the host community and others in camps (2 informal camps and 13 official camps).

In Maimusari and Bolori health centres, we run Outpatient Departments. MSF staff have around 500 consultations every day at each location, ATFCs (270 new admissions/week between the two sites) and maternity services (simple deliveries, ANC and PNC consultations).

In Maimusari, the government has handed over to MSF a new building, which has allowed us to move from a basic health care centre to a comprehensive health care facility including hospitalisation. MSF has opened an Inpatient Department with 50 beds for paediatrics and a paediatric ICU, and will add 20 beds for adults.

In Gwange, a Maiduguri district, we have now an inpatient therapeutic feeding centre (ITFC) with a 110 bed capacity where the activity is consistently increasing to reach 92 admissions per week. The ITFC is under tents, in the compound of the Ministry of Health (MoH) run health centre, and should move to semi-permanent structures in the coming weeks to improve quality or hygiene. The plans are to increase the capacity to 150-200 beds and identify another location to settle put up a second ITFC of a similar size to meet the increasing needs.

Epidemiological surveillance continues in the 13 official camps and in Muna camp, an informal settlement with thousands of people, which has high rates of malnutrition and under 5 mortality.

Cases of measles have been reported inside Maiduguri in the “Arabic teaching college” camp and outside Maiduguri in Konduga, the last big town on the road to Bama accessible without escort for now. MSF teams are doing containment and case management on site.

A Cholera Treatment Centre has been identified in Maiduguri in preparation for the the onset of the cholera season, and MSF has provided training to the MOH on detection and management of a cholera outbreak.

Regards

Angela