Displaced by devastating floods, Nigerians are forced to use floodwater despite cholera risk.
Displaced by devastating floods, Nigerians are forced to use floodwater despite cholera risk. The floods in northern Niger have displaced up to 16,000 people, including thousands of children, the UN Refugee Agency has said.
Niger’s government declared a state of emergency in the region and called in the military to help rescue people from flooded areas. More than 350 people have died since the floods began, the UN refugee agency estimates.
After almost two months of devastating flooding in the northern Sahara, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has said they are still waiting for a response on providing emergency humanitarian assistance to people affected by the floods.
“Many of those we are trying to help are in urgent need of food, water, psychosocial support and shelter,” spokesperson Adrian Edwards told reporters in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on Friday afternoon. “We are not giving up. We are working towards providing basic humanitarian assistance and supporting refugees in their journey to safe haven.”
The agency said they are yet to gain access to camps where more than 2,000 people have sought refuge but are not receiving much help in their efforts to rebuild their lives.
“Conditions are very bad,” Edwards said. “We are still trying to provide assistance in camps so people aren’t displaced further.
“There is a great need to support them in the camps,” he added. “People who are displaced are living in the camps, but they are in great need of basic services.”
The latest update on the situation follows the death from cholera last month of a woman who was rescued from a flooded village in northern Niger.
Since the floods started last week, more than 1,000 people have died and some 4,000 have been evacuated to help, according to data by the UN
