IRC emergency team arrives in flood-ravaged Nigeria

The International Rescue Committee has dispatched emergency experts to Nigeria as floods wreak havoc across the country—threatening disease outbreaks and food shortages. 

In what's being described as Nigeria's worst seasonal floods in 50 years, the United Nations is estimating that as many as two million people could be uprooted from their homes in 30 of Nigeria’s 36 states, while Nigerian authorities suggest an even higher number.  At least 400 people have reportedly been killed in the floods.

Countless homes, schools and clinics have washed away or collapsed and vast farmlands are under water.   Food stocks and crops have been destroyed and in some states, the price of available food is soaring, leading to growing concerns about food shortages and hunger.

Tens of thousands of people have moved into makeshift camps, churches or other shelters and have limited access to clean water and proper sanitation.  Close to 200 cases of cholera have already been detected linked to the flood crisis.

 “Conditions like these are ripe for the spread of water-borne diseases like cholera,” says the International Rescue Committee's Bobi Moris, who is leading a rapid needs assessment in Kogi and other hard-hit states.

 

The IRC team, which includes environmental health and logistics experts, will focus on food security, health, water, sanitation and shelter, as well as identifying local partners with a view toward launching emergency programs to meet urgent needs.