Sen. Ipalibo Banigo, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Secondary and Tertiary Health, has commiserated with the victims of Borno flood disaster, saying that the devastation has disrupted socio-economic activities of the State.
Banigo said this on Wednesday, while expressing worry that the already pressured Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in most communities in North-East, especially Borno, had been affected by the impact of the flooding.
‘I urge the relevant health bodies to quickly intervene, to checkmate the spread of water-borne diseases,’ she said.
According to Banigo, the intervention of the Federal Government is timely, going by the visit of President Bola Tinubu and his Vice, Kashim Shetima, as well as other prominent Nigerians.
She said that the flood had continued to reveal the adverse effects of climate change.
Banigo, who expressed satisfaction with the quick intervention of the state governor, Babagana Zulum and NEMA in mitigating the impact of the flood, called for effective and adequa
te delivery of relief materials and palliatives to the affected people.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the recent flooding in Borno submerged several residential homes, displacing tens of thousands of residents and causing animals in the zoo to escape into the streets.
No fewer than 30 lives have been lost following the incident, with over one million people affected, while the United Nations puts the total number of displaced persons at 414,000.
The incident was caused by last week’s collapse of the Alau dam on the Ngadda River in the state.
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Expressing concern over the health implications of the disaster, especially on women and children, Banigo said the development could lead to the escalation in the spread of diarrhoea and other water-borne diseases.
Banigo, who called for quicker preventive measures, also said that the development heightened the rate of infant and maternal mortality.
‘While I deeply sympathise with the victims of the
disastrous flooding, I profoundly thank Gov. Babagana Zulum for demonstrating leadership by ensuring the safe evacuation of victims.
‘It is also my appeal that health agencies should mobilise to affected areas and provide the needed assistance so that the health hazards of flooding will be brought to the barest minimum,’ she added.
Source: News Agency of Nigeria