The Nigerian Medical Association on Wednesday raised the alarm over the floods across Nigeria, warning the country was at a high risk of waterborne diseases.
The President of the NMA, Dr Uche Ojinmah, in an interview with one of our correspondents in Abuja, lamented that corpses were floating in floods, adding that the government should swing into action to prevent an epidemic.
The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund had a few days ago, said the floods, which had affected 34 out of the 36 states in the country, had displaced 1.3 million people.
The UN body said over 600 people had lost their lives, adding that over 200,000 houses had either been partially or fully damaged.
In the interview, the NMA president said there were high risks of waterborne diseases in the country as a result of the floods.
Ojinmah said, “The wells and streams are already contaminated so there is a risk of waterborne diseases, especially in the affected states.
“Corpses are floating in the floods, especially in Bayelsa. The government needs to provide good camping, toilets, water and healthcare for them because they will need to be attended to medically for their health needs.”
Also, the President of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, Dr Emeka Orji, told Newsextra24 that there were immediate and future implications and threats of the floods in the country.
“I must confess that we’ve not conducted any study to find out the effects of flooding in the country. Unfortunately, floods can lead to waterborne diseases like diarrhoea, cholera, and typhoid fever.
“The state and federal governments must proffer preventive measures to prevent this disaster from reoccurring. Usually, there’s a warning that the flooding was going to happen but if we have an adequate emergency response team, this would have been prevented. So, I blame the state and federal governments.
FCT NMA
The Public Relations Officer of the Nigerian Medical Association in the FCT, Dr Muyiwa Komolafe, on his part said the floods would lead to pollution and waterborne diseases.
He said “Floods are not a new thing but this year’s case is high and it will definitely pollute the ground waters. That of this year is astronomical because of the water released from the dam. But we could have averted the disasters because we have forecasters that have predicted this.
“There will be pollution because most filling stations have their fuel reservoirs underground. Don’t forget that toilets and septic tanks are there, so it is certain that there will be waterborne diseases like cholera, and typhoid and anybody around the waters is at risk.
“I will blame both the government and the people because there were predictions earlier.’’
A former President of the Association of Resident Doctors, Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital chapter, Bayelsa State, Dr Oru-Oru Inestol, said the massive flooding could pre-dispose the populace to the outbreak of water-borne diseases.
The Secretary of the Gombe State Chapter of the NMA, Dr Daniel Apollos, in an interview with one of our correspondents in Gombe said there were health concerns, especially cholera.
Meanwhile, the governor of Akwa Ibom State, Udom Emmanuel, on Wednesday, commiserated with his Bayelsa counterpart, Douye Diri, over the flood situation in his state.
Emmanuel, who led a delegation of his cabinet members to the Government House, Yenagoa, said his cabinet decided to visit Bayelsa based on the magnitude of the flood that hit the state.
Describing the natural disaster as pathetic, he applauded the relentless efforts of Diri in standing by his people in their moment of despair, stressing that his gesture was a mark of true leadership.
Emmanuel, therefore, presented a cheque of N100m to Diri and also announced that a truckload of relief materials courtesy of his wife’s Family Empowerment Programme Foundation was on its way to support flood victims in the state.
