Posts tagged Nigeria
ALARMING LEVELS OF MALNUTRITION IN BORNO STATE
Goni Kachallari, a site in Maiduguri, is where around 340 families are living. All of the families have fled their villages and are doing their best to survive. In Borno State, the conflict opposing the Nigerian army and Boko Haram is depriving many people of their livelihoods. Even in state capital Maiduguri, where there is no fighting at present, food is hard to come by.
In 16 months of search and rescue on the Mediterranean, we’ve met nearly 30,000 of the most hopeful & resilient people.
Meet Michael and Rachel, 21 and 22 years old from Nigeria.
Rachel: “I was pregnant when I left Nigeria, counting up to 8 months when I left. I gave birth in Libya, Sabha precisely. I don’t have money to go to the hospital. But thanks god I delivered successfully. And my baby now is 4 months old. Yesterday we came to Italy, today makes him 4 months and 8 days. And the travel from Libya to Italy, and the sea movement, it wasn’t easy. It’s not easy for us to come but thank God we got on our journey.
Each time I think about this whole journey… Libya, Nigeria… Even crossing the sea. It’s not easy, I cry all the time. We really passed through pain. The pain was too much for us. It was too much to be there.”
June 8th was an intense day for Doctors Without Borders’ search and rescue operations in the Central Mediterranean Sea. The MSF ship Bourbon Argos, that set sail from Zarzis in Tunisia, rescued 362 people from three boats in distress: 134 in the first one, 113 in the second and 115 in the third. On the three rubber rafts, the majority were from Nigeria, Guinea, Mali, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Togo and Senegal. Between the three boats, 57 women were rescued as well as 2 children.
MSF Month in Focus Series: July 2016
These are the day to day activities and occurrences for not only our staff but the very people that MSF treats. From the humanitarian crisis in Nigeria to the fighting in Iraq, or the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean. Our operations encompass all parts of the world.
Come join us as we take a look at MSF’s Month In Focus.
Photo by Yozo Kawabe
After 28 weeks, a widespread outbreak of measles in Katsina State, Nigeria, has ended. MSF had been regularly visiting 300 health facilities, and donated treatments for 14,290 people. Read more
Phoro: Children work at the gold processing site in Bagega. Nigeria 2012 © Olga Overbeek
Nigeria: MSF Treats Children for Lead Poisoning After Long Delay in Clean-Up
Three years after the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) responded to an unprecedented outbreak of lead poisoning in Nigeria’s Zamfara state, MSF is finally able to treat children in the badly affected village of Bagega now that a long-delayed program to remediate lead contamination is underway.
Photo: Some parting words from Port Harcourt to thank MSF for its work there.
MSF began its TEME Clinic, Port Harcourt operations in 2005 and would still continue even with the resolution of the initial challenge which had led to their coming. From its earliest operations until it would announce its plans to leave from the Niger Delta (in October 2012 and final pull-out in March 2013) following the return of peace and after a commendable seven-year commitment to the health emergencies, over 13, 000 persons have been so treated in skin crafting, bullet wounds, damages to borne resulting mostly from motorcycle accidents and so on.
“On behalf of Port Harcourt People, the Niger Delta People and Nigeria at large, we say THANK YOU.”
And on behalf of MSF, we say THANK YOU to our field staff, local staff, our donors, supporters, and the people of Port Harcourt for allowing us to be there.
Photo: One-and-a-half-year-old Husseini and his twin brother are both on chelation therapy for lead poisoning. Nigeria 2012 © Olga Overbeek/MSF
Time Running Out for Nigeria Lead Poisoning Victims
The Nigerian government has failed to promptly release funds needed to remove lead from homes in a northern area of Nigeria, worsening a health crisis in which hundreds of children have fallen ill or died from lead poisoning since 2010.
Funds to tackle an ongoing lead poisoning crisis in Zamfara District—with a specific focus on the remediation of Bagega village—were promised by the president in May 2012, but have still not been released by the secretary of the government of the federation. The remediation process removes lead from the environment. Without it, children are continually re-exposed to lead toxins, rendering medical treatment useless. MSF has been treating victims of lead poisoning in Zamfara district since it was discovered in 2010.
“Bagega is reaching a crisis point,” said Michael White, acting head of mission for Nigeria. “More than two and a half years after the lead poisoning disaster was first discovered, hundreds of children are still awaiting critical medical treatment. MSF is ready and willing to treat these children, but cannot do so until their homes have been environmentally remediated. It’s time to get the lead out of Bagega.”
Photo: MSF provided medical assistance and distributed aid kits to populations in need after severe flooding. Nigeria 2012 © MSF
MSF Responds to Floods in Nigeria
After severe floods hit eastern Nigeria in September, MSF provided medical assistance and distributed aid kits to populations in need.
Among the affected population, MSF staff found high rates of malaria, particularly in the Mayorenewo area, where more than 80 percent of patients tested positive. Malaria is transmitted by infected mosquitoes and can be fatal if it is not treated. In an effort to reduce the number of mosquitoes and avoid a spike in malaria cases, MSF teams exercised vector control by spraying breeding grounds and distributed mosquito nets to internally displaced families.
“Malaria is already endemic in the region but, due to the flow of people to this area, local health centers were unable to cope with the increased amount of cases,” said Terri Morris, MSF head of mission in Nigeria. “Also, in remote villages and settlements there were almost no functioning health services. Patches of standing water from the floods were a perfect breeding ground for mosquito larvae, and the situation was worsened by the overcrowding caused by the displacements. In some cases 150 people were sharing a house designed for a family of 20, all without mosquito nets.”
Photo: A young boy works at an illegal gold mine in Dareta, Nigeria. © David Gilkey/NPR
If you missed the Twitter chat last week with NPR’s Jason Beaubien & @MSF_USA on lead poisoning in #NigeriaGold, check out the highlights here.
Photo: Four-wheel drive is no match for the mud on the road to a gold mine in northern Nigeria. David Gilkey/NPR
In Nigerian Gold Rush, Lead Poisons Thousands Of Children
NPR featured our project treating lead poisoning in northern Nigeria, a crisis caused by unsafe mining and ore processing. Watch the video and slideshow here.
Today at noon ET, NPR’s Jason Beaubien is doing a live Twitter chat on lead poisoning in Nigeria. Follow @nprGlobalhealth and #NigeriaGold.
Nigeria Lead Poisoning Crisis—Now Is the Time for Action
Nigerian Government Must Ensure Clean Up of Affected Area, Along With Necessary Medical Care and Safer Mining Practices
The Nigerian government must commit significant resources to respond to a lead poisoning epidemic in Zamfara State, which has sickened thousands of children since 2010, the international medical humanitarian organization MSF and other delegates at an international conference on the epidemic said today.
Decision-makers from the Nigerian government and the ministers of mines, environment, and health were not present at the International Lead Poisoning Conference, held May 9–10 in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja. No concrete action by the Nigerian federal government was announced.
“There has been plenty of talk, but now is the time for action,” said Ivan Gayton, MSF country representative in Nigeria. “MSF will consider this conference to be a success when all of the poisoned children are living in a safe environment and receiving treatment.”
Photo: A 10-year-old worker at the gold processing site in Bagega
Nigeria 2012 © Olga Overbeek/MSF
My perspective definitely changed. This program has absolutely had a positive impact in Nigeria. In 2011, we performed more surgeries than any other fistula hospital in the country, and we had many women leaving our hospital dry, or at least able to live some semblance of a normal life.
A Nurse with MSF speaking about her time in Nigeria
Read the full article from the Oakland Press here.
2010
Lead Poisoning In Nigeria
MSF teams carrying out measles vaccinations in Nigeria respond to reports of a mysterious illness that has killed dozens of children in a remote town, deducing upon their arrival that lead poisoning is the culprit and beginning the organization’s first ever lead poisoning response.
Learn more about MSF’s history at our website.
Photo: Nigeria 2010 © John Heeneman/MSF
This kind of project ensures better monitoring of patients, and it is possible to do research to improve treatment. The objective is to operate on 350 women per year for three years. This time frame should allow us to train three Burundi surgeons, and to transfer our activities to the Ministry of Health.
1996
MSF Movement Grows
MSF-Norway is founded, joining additional MSF offices in Austria, Australia, Denmark, Hong Kong, Japan, Germany, Greece, Sweden, and the UK.
Meningitis Epidemic in Nigeria
MSF vaccinates more than 4 million people against meningitis and creates special centers to treat thousands more who become infected in a massive epidemic outbreak.
Learn more about MSF’s history at our website.
Photo: Nigeria 1996 © Remco Bohle
- Page 1 of 2
- Next »