TheCable

The Borno state government says 450 have people died of diseases and malnutrition across the internally-displaced-persons’ (IDPs) Camps in the state.

According to PRNigeria, Haruna Mshelia,  Borno state commissioner of health, disclosed this at press briefing to correct a report that 450 children had died of malnutrition.

Mshelia said:”Contrary to media report, statistics shows that, a total of 54,000 children under the ages of 5 and below were recorded in all the resettlement camps, in which, 98 children (1.5%) had severe cases of malnutrition and died last year. The figure of the dead toll was misquoted as 450 instead of 98.”

He, however, said that the 450 deaths were recorded across IDP camps in the state- including adults and children. He added that the deaths were as a result of common ailments and other causes such as, malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia, measles and malnutrition.

Mshelia pointed out that all children under the age of five, who are living at various IDP camps in the state, were being screened every two or three months to check malnutrition.

He disclosed that in 2015 more 200,000 children were screened out of which, 6,444 were found to be severely malnourished and were treated through community management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) and infant and young child feeding (IYCF) programmes of the State Primary Health Care Development Agency (SPHCDA) with support from partners like UNICEF, Save the Children, and Action Against Hunger (AAH).

He also said that the National Demographic and Health Survey Data (NDHS- 2013) revealed that the northeast that had suffered much due to insurgency, and had “an under-five mortality rate of 160 deaths per 1,000; second only to the northwest with 185 deaths per 1,000 population.”

 He then commended all the health care partners, especially Medicine SAN Frontiers (doctors without borders) (French section) for not only proving care for malnourished children in the state, but also for renovating and equipping most structures and facilities at Umaru Shehu General Hospital in Bulumkutu, state specialist hospital, and General Mamman Shuwa Memorial Hospital (nursing home)-all in Maiduguri metropolis.