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Severe malnutrition problem at Boko Haram displaced camps

By AFP
22 February 2016   |   5:09 pm
Nearly 6,500 children were found to be severely malnourished last year at camps set up for people made homeless by Boko Haram insurgents, health officials in northeast Nigeria said on Monday. "We recorded about 6,444 severe cases of malnutrition in the IDP (internally displaced persons) camps during the period," said the head of the Borno…

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Nearly 6,500 children were found to be severely malnourished last year at camps set up for people made homeless by Boko Haram insurgents, health officials in northeast Nigeria said on Monday.

“We recorded about 6,444 severe cases of malnutrition in the IDP (internally displaced persons) camps during the period,” said the head of the Borno State Primary Health Care Board, Sule Mele.

“25,511 others have mild to moderate symptoms, while 177,622 among the children were not malnourished,” he told reporters.

More than 2.6 million people have been forced to flee the violence in northeast Nigeria since Boko Haram began its violent campaign to create a hardline Islamic state in 2009.

At least 17,000 people have been killed in the same period.

The figures lay bare the effects of the insurgency, with farming virtually impossible in the mainly agricultural region and delivery of food supplies made difficult because of the unrest.

Aid agencies have long warned about a worsening humanitarian crisis in the region because of the vast numbers of displaced and the pressure on local authorities forced to host them.

Nigeria’s government, which maintains it has “technically” defeated Boko Haram, is pushing a policy of returning IDPs to their homes, despite continued sporadic attacks.

But IDPs at one of the camps in Maiduguri told AFP earlier this month they were reluctant to return, citing lack of security, food and clean water.

Education and healthcare have also been severely hit by the fighting.

Mele said the deaths of some 459 children aged one to five in camps last year from preventable childhood diseases such as diarrhoea, vomiting and measles were exacerbated by malnutrition.

Children were not getting the required nutrition from food distributed at the camps, affecting health, growth and physical development, as well as increasing susceptibility to disease.

“Even if the children get enough to eat, they will become malnourished if the food they eat does not provide the proper amounts of micro-nutrients, vitamins and minerals to meet daily nutritional requirements,” he added.

Children with severe acute malnutrition were receiving treatment with help from non-governmental organisations but more needed to be done to reduce the problem, Sule said.

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  • Author’s gravatar

    YET PRESIDENT GOODLUCK JONATHAN IS BAD AND CORRUPT!

    By Yusuf Yisau

    1. He built 150 almajiri schools yet Goodluck is bad.

    2. He revived railway that was comatose for over 28yrs. Lagos-Kano route, Lagos-Southern Ogun air conditioned train route, Ajaokuta-Warri standard guage route, PH-Enugu airconditioned train route, PH-Maiduguri train route, Kaduna intra-city train routes, Makurdi-PH airconditioned train route, Abuja-Kaduna standard guage route. Work on Lagos-Ibadan standard guage route ongoing. And about to kick start Lagos-Calabar coastal railway route yet Goodluck is bad.

    3. He established 12 federal universities yet Goodluck is bad.

    4. Massive road reconstruction across the country (25000km). Benin-Ore road, Abuja-Lokoja expressway, Enugu-Abakaliki, Onitsha-Owerri road, Kaduna-Maiduguri road, East-West road, Parts of PH-Enugu road & Lagos-Ibadan 8-lane road ongoing yet Goodluck is bad.

    5. Construction of 2nd Niger Bridge is ongoing yet Goodluck is bad.

    6. He dredged River Niger yet Goodluck is bad.

    7. Improved in power supply from 2500mw to 6000mw and implanted 10 new power plants yet Goodluck is bad.

    8. He revived the automobile industry with the new automobile policy spurring Nissan & Hyundai e.t.c to assemble / produce cars in Nigeria and the emergence of Indigenous automobile company the INNOSON group now producing locally made in Nigeria cars, SUVs and trucks known as the IVM motors. First in the history of Nigeria, he joined the commodity of car manufacturing countries yet Goodluck is bad.

    9. He remodelled airports to international standard, built five new airport terminals in PH, Lagos, Kano, Abuja &Enugu. First in the history of Nigeria, the East now have an international airport yet Goodluck is bad.

    10. He signed Freedom of Information (FOI) bill that past leaders refused to sign yet Jonathan is bad.

    11. He revamped the agricultural sector. Nigeria now the largest producer of cassava in the world with 45million metric tonnes – FAO, the largest exporter of cassava chips to China and have unprecedented 60% sufficient in rice production yet Goodluck is bad.

    12. He gave women 35% affirmative to women participation in governance which saw the emergence of Maryam Muktar as the first ever female Chief Justice of Nigeria yet Goodluck is bad.

    13. He was able to contain the outbreak of Ebola disease yet Goodluck is bad.

    14. He signed local content act. Nigeria now have 400 tankers transporting crude oil. Previously it was 60 tankers yet Goodluck is bad.

    15. His government recorded an unprecedented achievement in sports, best sporting performance in the history of country yet Goodluck is bad.

    16. Nigeria is now the largest economy in Africa and the 3rd fastest growing economy in the world after China and Qatar– CNN yet Goodluck is bad.

    17. He made it possible for Nigeria to conduct the most free, fair & credible elections in the history of the country( 2011 and 2015 elections ) yet Goodluck is bad.

    19. He does not interfere with the electoral and judiciary system. Elections in Imo, Anambra & Edo for example. In the history of Nigeria, is only in his government the opposition controlled large number of states and controlled greater number of seats in the National Assembly yet Goodluck is bad.

    20. Under his government, political assassination and assassination of high profile Nigerians is now a thing of the past.

    Who killed Dele Giwa, Bola Ige, Funsho Williams, Marshall Harry, Aminisoari Dikibo, Alfred Rewane, Ken Saro Wiwa, Kudirat Abiola, NBA chairman, Barnabas Igwe and his wife Abigail Igwe? In whose governments were all these murdered?

    I can give you about 100 high profile political assassinations in Obasanjo’s civilian rule alone yet President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is bad and so unacceptable to you.

    – Concerned Nigerian.

    • Author’s gravatar

      It is not what he did that is important here (but what you say is good news) it is what he didn’t do that is important. He did not protect the citizens of Nigeria that he swore an oath to do, And of course there is the corruption…. and remember the price of oil during much of his tenure – so much more could have been done.

  • Author’s gravatar

    That a cyclopean,, noisy, babbling nation like this cannot feed its distressed citizens, and vulnerable children most especially

  • Author’s gravatar

    Britain and it’s agents in Nigeria told you that Jonathan is corrupt and promised you change. Mental slavery!