22 Affected States. Intersos is at the forefront to identify infected boreholes and ensure water chlorination for 983 families in the Borno State

 

 

There is a cholera outbreak in Nigeria with over 22 States affected. On 31 August 2021, the Borno State Government declared an outbreak in the State. As of 3rd September this year, there were over 660 cases in Borno State with 45 deaths. Cholera is a fatal disease caused by the infection of the intestines usually through swallowing contaminated water.

 

“4 people died in Bama. The outbreak in Bama began when we noticed a spike in the weekly numbers of diarrhoea and acute watery diarrhoea cases being treated in our health facilities and identified during door-to-door hygiene promotions.  I saw that the people we help were depressed and apprehensive of the outbreak, hence me and my team members tasked ourselves to be more strategic and multiply our contributions to respond to the situation”, John Aham Nwamuo, who oversees Intersos’  Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) project in Bama, Borno State, says. According to him, early in September this year, the cases were moderate, but the number of confirmed and suspected cases started rising within the second half of September.

 

According to OCHA (September 2021), more than 2,000 cholera and acute watery diarrhoea cases, including 76 deaths were reported in 25 Local Government Areas (LGAs) across Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States (the epicentres of the 11-year humanitarian crisis in northeast Nigeria) over the last two months. Hard-to-reach locations are the worst affected. This year’s rains and floods of August and September, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the protracted humanitarian emergency in the State – with its resultant breakdown of many water facilities and insufficient critical medical interventions in inaccessible communities devasted by the crises – have contributed to the quick, repeated spread of the disease.

 

Intersos response to cholera

 

Intersos has stepped up to the occasion, acting fast with partners to make sure more people have access to clean, safe water, and to raise awareness about the importance of personal hygiene in preventing cholera. Bama LGA is one of the areas where we work to render emergency relief in health and nutritional care, gender-based violence prevention, and WASH services.

 

“The exponential increase in September this year, of the number of people being cared for in the camps and in the host communities; Ngomari – where 2 people died, and Shettimari, presented a huge task at hand”, recounted John. Bama recently witnessed an upsurge in the population due to new arrivals and new returnees from other locations. He shared some of the key strategies Intersos, through its WASH team, deployed to tackle the situation and reduce the number of cases in October 2021, within its minimal resources:

  • Identifying water points which showed the presence of harmful bacteria responsible for water-borne diseases
  • distributing 400 sachets of Aquatab (water disinfectants) to 80 households
  • supporting local borehole water business operators to chlorinate the water sold to vendors who in turn sell to households
  • working with partners to conduct referrals, contact tracing and disinfection of necessary houses and neighbourhoods
  • fully involving leaders and members of all the communities (inside the camp and the host community) in sensitizing the masses about cholera infection, prevention and control.

 

“Compared to September, the numbers are going down, because of these interventions, led by INTERSOS, in coordination with its partners in the area”, John added. Presently in Bama, INTERSOS is the only Organization capable of testing water samples in-situ (using Bacto Vials). INTERSOS is also the first Organization that started making sure people from the host community drank chlorinated water. Currently about 5,000 persons (75% of whom are children and women) across 983 households in Bama host community currently drink safe water every day, thanks to Intersos’ intervention. This is in addition to more than 6,500 persons inside the IDP camp whom we also provide safe water to daily. The community leaders – Bulama of Shettimari and the Bulama of Ngomari – respectively said, “A big thank you to Intersos, for your wonderful interventions to reassure us of good health”.

 

Our interventions in Bama have been commendable however more resources are required to sustain the momentum. The WASH team mentioned the destruction of the solar energy units of 2 water facilities inside the IDP camp, by storm, which had to be replaced to avoid having any casualties. They also pointed out that emergency preparedness and response needs to be integrated into Intersos’ sectors, cholera treatment units need to be constructed and operationalized, and a State and LGA-specific cholera prevention action plan needs to be in place. “We also need to extend our coverage to other parts of Borno State where the epidemic exists as well as in parts of Bama such as Banki town, which regularly experiences movement of people to and from Bama main town and other locations, making it easier for diseases to spread”, John added.