Trending
Nigerian flood victims face long wait for medical help
By Ahmed Kingimi
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) – People in Nigeria’s flood-hit northeastern Borno state are struggling to get medical care as overwhelmed aid agencies warn of an outbreak of waterborne disease following the worst floods to hit the region in three decades.
Residents walk as they leave the flooded areas in Maiduguri, northern Borno state, Nigeria September 15, 2024. REUTERS/Ahmed Kingimi
© Thomson Reuters
More than 30 people have been killed by the floods, which authorities say affected about one million people, most of whom are housed in camps without food and clean water.
The deluge threatens not only the health and safety of the displaced but puts a strain on aid agencies and government resources, exacerbating an already critical humanitarian crisis.
The floods in Borno, the birthplace of Boko Haram militants in the Lake Chad basin, started when a dam burst its walls following heavy rainfall that has also caused floods in Cameroon, Chad, Mali and Niger, all part of Africa’s Sahel region that usually receives little rain.
Residents leave the flooded areas with their belongings in Maiduguri, northern Borno state, Nigeria September 15, 2024. REUTERS/Ahmed Kingimi © Thomson Reuters
In the last two weeks of August, more than 1.5 million people were displaced across 12 countries in West and Central Africa due to floods, and about 465 have been killed, according to the United Nations humanitarian affairs office.
Residents leave the flooded areas with their belongings in Maiduguri, northern Borno state, Nigeria September 15, 2024. REUTERS/Ahmed Kingimi
© Thomson Reuters
Over the weekend, an additional 50,000 people were displaced in northeastern Nigeria as the floods intensified, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said on Monday.
“The situation in the Sahel and Lake Chad region is increasingly dire, as the compounding effects of conflict, displacement and climate change take a severe toll on vulnerable populations,” said Hassane Hamadou, NRC’s Central and West Africa regional director.
The floods in West Africa come at a time of flooding in Europe after days of torrential rain that caused rivers to burst their banks in several parts of the region.
In a camp in Maiduguri, Borno’s state capital, Bintu Amadu was among hundreds of frustrated people waiting for hours to see a doctor because her son had diarrhoea.
“We have not received any aid, and our attempts to see a doctor have been unsuccessful. We have been waiting for medical attention since yesterday, but to no avail,” she said.
Ramatu Yajubu was happy she had obtained an appointment card after waiting for days, but quickly added: “I am uncertain about receiving attention due to the overwhelming number of people seeking care.”
A view of the prison where nearly three hundred prisoners escaped after floods in Maiduguri, northern Borno state, Nigeria September 15, 2024. REUTERS/Ahmed Kingimi
© Thomson Reuters
Mathias Goemaere, a field coordinator for Medecins Sans Frontieres, said that even before the floods, residents in Borno were struggling with malnutrition, following years of an Islamist insurgency that has driven people from their farms.
“They are exposed to their environment, so what do we see? A lot of waterborne diseases, diarrhoea, diarrhoeal diseases … Malaria is around with a lot of mosquitoes,” Goemaere told Reuters.
“So a lot of people, because of malnutrition, are immuno-suppressed, which makes them more susceptible to diseases.”
Nigeria’s government has separately warned of rising water levels in the country’s largest rivers, the Benue and Niger, which could cause floods in the oil-producing Niger Delta region in the south.
(Writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe and Bate Felix, Editing by William Maclean)
BEIRUT/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – The Israeli military carried out at least five airstrikes on the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut on Tuesday, after Israel’s defence minister ruled out any ceasefire in Lebanon until Israel’s goals had been met.
Smoke billows over Beirut’s southern suburbs, after an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Baabda, Lebanon November 12, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
© Thomson Reuters
Smoke rose over Beirut as blasts shook the capital around mid-morning. The explosions followed an Israeli military warning posted on social media identifying 12 sites in the southern suburbs and saying it would take action against them soon. It warned residents they were located near Hezbollah facilities.
Smoke billows over Beirut’s southern suburbs, after an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Baabda, Lebanon November 12, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
© Thomson Reuters
There were no immediate reports of casualties from the latest strikes. Residents have largely fled the southern suburbs since Israel began bombing the area in September.
In Israel, air raid sirens sounded in parts of the north, sending residents running for shelter, and the military said a number of “suspicious aerial targets” were launched from Lebanon. There were no reports of injuries.
Ignited by the Gaza war, the conflict at the Lebanese-Israeli border had been rumbling on for a year before Israel went on the offensive in September, pounding wide areas of Lebanon with airstrikes and sending troops into the south.
Israel has dealt heavy blows to Hezbollah over the last seven weeks, killing many of its top leaders including Hassan Nasrallah, flattening parts of Beirut’s southern suburbs, and causing vast destruction in border villages in south Lebanon.
People gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike on the northern Lebanese town of Ain Yaaqoub, Lebanon November 12, 2024. REUTERS/Omar Ibrahim
© Thomson Reuters
Meeting with Israel’s general staff for the first time, Israel’s newly appointed Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Monday there would be no ceasefire in Lebanon until Israel achieves its goals.
“Israel will not agree to any arrangement that does not guarantee Israel’s right to enforce and prevent terrorism on its own, and meet the goals of the war in Lebanon – disarming Hezbollah and its withdrawal beyond the Litani River and returning the residents of the north safely to their homes.”
Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Saar had said earlier on Monday there had been “a certain progress” in ceasefire talks, whilst adding the war against Hezbollah was not yet over.
Smoke billows over Beirut’s southern suburbs, after an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Baabda, Lebanon November 12, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
© Thomson Reuters
The main challenge facing any ceasefire deal would be enforcement, he said.
Hezbollah has said it is ready for a long war against Israel and has kept up rocket fire.
SOUTH OF THE LITANI
The Lebanese government, which includes Hezbollah, has repeatedly called for a ceasefire based on the full implementation of a U.N. Resolution that ended a war between the group and Israel in 2006.
Lebanese Red Cross members look for remains of bodies at the site of an Israeli airstrike on the northern Lebanese town of Ain Yaaqoub, Lebanon November 12, 2024. REUTERS/Omar Ibrahim
© Thomson Reuters
The resolution calls for the area south of the Litani to be free of all weapons other than those of the Lebanese state. Lebanon and Israel have accused each other of violating the resolution.
Israel’s offensive has driven more than 1 million people from their homes in Lebanon in the last seven weeks. Since hostilities erupted a year ago, Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed 3,243 people and injured 14,134, the Lebanese health ministry said. Its figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Hezbollah attacks have killed roughly 100 civilians and soldiers in northern Israel, the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, and southern Lebanon over the last year.
Nigerian skit creator and actress, Kemi Ikuseedun, widely recognized as Mummy Wa, has shared her ordeal with sexual harassment within the film industry. She disclosed her experiences during a recent appearance on the ‘WithChude podcast’ hosted by Chude Jideonwo.
Mummy Wa rose to prominence in 2023 after featuring in skits alongside Mr. Macaroni.
In her account, the actress revealed that she faced unwelcome sexual propositions from filmmakers while trying to build her career.
“Behind the scenes, a lot of people are asking for things. They are requesting for a whole lot of things that I cannot do.
“Where do I want to start from? Me that I’m already coming from a place where they tell me ‘this thing will not work’. How many people do I want to sleep with?
“To be honest, you might actually sleep with somebody in the industry and you will still not blow with the role they will give you. I saw a lot of men. But guess what? Even the slim ones that don’t have anything, they are still asking for things from them.
“No woman is free. No woman is immune. But I can’t do it.”
Photo source: Instagram
PhD student could not write his name properly – National teachers DG
NONSONKWA CRIES OUT FOR JUSTICE…
Yul Edochie Eager for Another Child, Specifically a Daughter, as He Appeals to Judy Austin
-
Politics9 months agoNigerian Senate passes Bill seeking the establishment of the South East Development Commission.
-
Business9 months agoInflation hits record high of 29.90% on naira weakness
-
Politics5 months agoBREAKING: Federal Gov’t Offers To Pay Above N60,000, Reaches Agreement With Labour
-
SportsNews8 months agoOlympic Qualifiers 2024: CAF Confirms Dates For Super Falcons Vs Banyana Banyana
-
Politics8 months agoGovernor Hope Uzodinma’s New Cabinet In Imo: The Gainers, The Losers
-
Entertainment9 months agoAmerican Singer Beyonce makes history as first Black woman to top country chart
-
Politics5 months agoBREAKING: Organized Labour suspends strike for one week.
-
Business9 months agoReasons we cannot sell cement below N7,000, by Dangote, Bua, Lafarge