October 06, (THEWILL) – The United Nations Children’s Education Funds (UNICEF) has reiterated its support to tackle the lack of access to adequate drinking water for thousands of children suffering acute malnourished in the Mafa Local Government Area of Borno State.
UNICEF’s Nutrition Assessment Officer for Borno and Yobe States, Nura Shehu, disclosed to newsmen at the Government Girls Arabic Secondary School (GGASS) IDP camp, Mafa Headquarters of the Local Government Area of the State.
He explained that UNICEF Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) intervention in the region enables it to deliver lifesaving assistance to address the immediate needs of a vulnerable population, especially women and children.
He said, “We have 14,000 cases of acute malnutrition, 5000 of them suffer severe acute malnutrition while 9000 suffer moderate acute malnutrition. Our intervention has helped to bring succour to the affected children,” he noted.
He noted that under the global agency’s Rapid Response Mechanism, 6 – 59-month-old children suffering severe acute malnutrition without complications have been admitted to the camp’s healthcare facility, while their counterparts with complications are in healthcare facilities outside the camp.
Also, UNICEF’s Water Sanitation and Hygiene Specialist, Dr. Loris Salihu, explained at the Outpatient Therapeutic Programme (OTP) that the camp is hosting over 38,000 people, saying out of the four boreholes at the camp, only one was functional.
“Our intervention was lifesaving assistance to the entire camp, it was one borehole that was functional before we moved in to rehabilitate an additional four boreholes with support from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund and EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO).
“Four boreholes with 14 taps heads each has capacity and yield of 60,000 litres per day and 200,000 litres per day, which is below UN standard litres per person,” he said.
He said the Agency is considering to optimise the water facilities to cover inhabitants of the camp and equally address the sanitation needs to avert outbreaks of cholera and other waterborne diseases.
