Federal Ministry of Environment says it has mobilised technical and material support to the people and Government of Borno to mitigate impact of recent flood that ravaged parts of the state.
Dr Iziaq Salako, Minister of State for Environment, disclosed this at a news conference in Abuja tagged “Health intervention on the 2024 flood episode.’’
Salako said the measure was in line with the presidential directives and in furtherance of the delivery of the ministerial mandates and key priorities of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
According to him, a team of experts ranging from environmental health officers to wildlife conservationists, pollution and erosion control officers has been deployed to assist the emergency management team in ameliorating the situation.
Salako , who described the incident as the worst flood in 30 years, said that the flood had left millions of people without shelter, clean water, food, health care and education.
“So far, over 1 million people have been affected, 1 million displaced while nearly 300 people dead; also leaving about 80,000 houses damaged in 176 local government areas across 29 states of the federation.
“This situation is indeed worrisome; we sympathise with the victims spread all over the federation especially in the worst affected states of Borno, Bauchi, Zamfara, Sokoto, Niger and Jigawa.
“Besides the economic loss, this flood episode like others before, has potential to usher in perhaps more worrisome situations of deadly flood-related diseases and health conditions.’’
The minister cautioned resident, authorities and stakeholders to be wary of diseases associated with the flood which included diarrhea and cholera.
According to him, this may occur in an epidemic proportion arising from the use of water already contaminated for cooking and drinking.
He identified other diseases as malaria, hook worm and tape worm adding that the occurrences could rise due to increase of parasitic activities arising from the imbalance in the habitat of their agents.
“Hepatitis A and B could spread in an acute form where people are bound to use water contaminated with faecal matter or when they rapidly have to share food and food containers that may have been contaminated with the virus.
“Yet another group are Silicosis, Asbestosis, Asthma and Cancer which may prevail as a result of people’s exposure to chemical substances washed into flood waters, impairing the cardiopulmonary functions of the human system,” he said.(NAN)
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