As patients are transferred to still-functional healthcare facilities, hospitals are overwhelmed – and overstretched medical staff, past the point of exhaustion, face burnout.

At least 60 hospitals, clinics and other healthcare facilities have been destroyed in the devastating flood that engulfed large parts of Maiduguri and its environs – and left thousands of patients in the lurch.

People with chronic diseases, such as cancer and renal failure, have been unable to undergo chemotherapy, radiation or dialysis.

Since the floodwater started receding, the queues of ill people outside still-functional healthcare facilities have been growing as more patients are transferred for treatment.

Doctors, nurses and other health workers at the State Specialist Hospital and the Umaru Shehu Ultra-Modern Hospital Bulunkutu – as well as at other health facilities that are still functioning – are overstretched as hundreds of sick people queue for their attention.

They say they are past the point of exhaustion and many face burnout.

The Borno State government has confirmed that there are urgent health challenges a result of the flood.

More than 2,000 persons in displaced camps in Maiduguri have been treated for malaria since the flood. Efforts to procure more insecticide-treated mosquito nets are under way.

The World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSN, also known as Doctors Without Borders) – as well as other local and international medical and humanitarian aid agencies – have warned of an escalation of cholera, diarrhoea and other waterborne diseases.

The number of malnutrition cases – already at record levels – is also expected to spike.

AILING HEALTHCARE SERVICES                                                

Residents of Shokari, Tandari, Mashamari, Muna and Mora Mora, who depend on the Maryam Abacha Women & Children Hospital for healthcare, were left stranded when it was submerged in the flood.

Aisha Mohammed, who lives in Shokari, said she and many flood victims were unable to get medical care because the hospital was no longer fully functional.

“Before the flood, I was a patient at the hospital. After the flood, most of the chronically ill patients were transferred to another hospital. But we are still struggling because other hospitals are so overcrowded.”

Zara Mohammed, who lives in Mashamari, said: “Right now, many pregnant women and nursing mothers desperately need medical care but the Maryam Abacha is no longer fully functional.

“Sometimes we spend up to five hours or more hoping to get proper medical attention and medicine for our sick children but there are no doctors or health workers available.

“We can’t afford to go to a private hospital. The cost-of-living crisis was affecting us badly before the flood and now the situation is a lot worse because most of us lost everything we owned.

“Now there are even more mosquitoes around – our children are suffering from malaria. Some have diarrhoea, too.

“The management of the hospital told us that the government intends to renovate the hospital. With luck, it will soon be fully functional again.”

HOSPITALS OVERSTRETCHED

Because so many of the healthcare facilities were destroyed or badly damaged by floodwater, thousands of patients have been transferred to the hospitals that are still functional.

People have to wait patiently for scans, diagnosis and dialysis.

Usman Mustapha, a resident of Maiduguri, told RNI that most of the chronically ill patients at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital had to be transferred to the State Specialist Hospital for dialysis and other urgently needed procedures.

“My brother has kidney problems and used to undergo regular dialysis sessions at the Teaching Hospital before all the equipment was destroyed in the flood. He was transferred to the General [Specialist] Hospital for treatment.

“It’s a critical situation because many people are struggling to access proper medical attention and the specialised treatment that they need.”

Shehu Mohammed, the medical director of the State Specialist Hospital in Maiduguri, told RNI that the hospital was badly flooded, although “fortunately not all the machines and equipment for scanning, diagnosis and dialysis were destroyed”.

“Most of our staff were affected by the flood. They couldn’t get to the hospital for the first few days of the flood. It was only when the water began to recede that they were able to return to work.

“But there has been a huge influx of patients and staff members have been struggling to cope. They are exhausted.

“We have the normal number of patients coming for treatment, plus many others who were transferred here because medical centres in other parts were destroyed. It’s been challenging. The hospital is congested and the staff members are overstretched. Some are at the point of burnout. Still, we are all trying to do what we can to offer effective healthcare services to all our patients.”

SPIKE IN MALARIA INFECTIONS

The flood affected two million people and displaced more than 400,000. Many are still being accommodated in camps around Maiduguri and its environs.

The flood provided an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes and there has been a sharp spike in the number of malaria infections.

In the Fariya Garkin Block in the Jere Local Government area, displaced persons told RNI that more women and children, in particular, were falling ill with malaria every day.

Umaru Kalla is one of a number of people who returned to the camp when the floodwater began to subside.

“There are hundreds of people who have contracted malaria, mostly women and children,” he said. “Most people do not have insecticide-treated nets so more people are falling ill every day.

“I’m appealing to the Borno State government and humanitarian agencies come to our aid. We urgently need insecticide-treated nets. If we don’t get them soon, more people will fall ill and some might even die.”

Busam Modu told RNI that it was difficult to sleep “because there are so many mosquitoes”.

“We do not have mosquito coils or nets so we do not have any way to prevent mosquitoes from biting us.

“Many children in the camp are sick and showing signs of malaria. They have a high fever, chills, headaches, fatigue and abdominal and muscle pain.

“Fariya Garkin Block was submerged in the flood and there are still areas with stagnant water – these are ideal breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

“We are begging the government to fumigate the whole camp to flush out the mosquitoes.

“We are also pleading with the government and humanitarian aid agencies to provide nets so that we can sleep peacefully at night. It is hard for everyone but nursing mothers and children are really struggling.

“We also need health workers to come to the camp to treat all the ill people. More people are getting sick every day. The situation is dire and it is getting worse.”

DETERIORATING PUBLIC HEALTH

Goni Imam Ali, the director of public health at the Borno State Ministry of Health, told RNI that the government was doing its best to replace machines, equipment, vaccines and medicines that were destroyed in the flood.

He said the government had set up a committee to assess the damage to hospitals, clinics and other healthcare facilities.

Ali conceded that there were not enough medicines and drugs in the state store and this was making it more difficult to respond effectively to emergencies.

“The state government has established temporary clinics in various camps and communities where there are no hospitals. It has provided ambulances to areas where hospitals and health facilities were submerged and destroyed, such as Gwange and Muna, so that patients can be transported to other hospitals in an emergency.

“To ensure people living in Shokari, Tandari and Mashamari have access to healthcare services, a temporary clinic has been set up in the vocational skills centre in Muna area.

“The state government has started fumigating areas that were affected by the flood to prevent and contain various waterborne diseases, such as the cholera and diarrhoea. This should also help to prevent more malaria infections. A vaccination campaign is being rolled out in Galtimari, Gwange, Fori and Muna.

“The Borno State government has warned the public not to buy or sell any products that could have been affected by contaminated water, particularly food and medicines.

“Any trader found selling contaminated products will face the wrath of the law,” Ali said.

“So far, more than 2,000 flood victims in displaced persons’ camps who contracted malaria have been treated. The government is handing out antimalarial tablets and insecticide-treated nets. More will be distributed in the coming days.

“The Borno State government is working in collaboration with humanitarian agencies, such as the UNICEF and the WHO, to ensure effective healthcare service delivery in the state.”

SHETTIMA LAWAN MONGUNO