International Journal of Health System and Disaster Management

LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Year
: 2017  |  Volume : 5  |  Issue : 2  |  Page : 49--50

Extending humanitarian assistance to people in the borno state of Nigeria


Saurabh RamBihariLal Shrivastava, Prateek Saurabh Shrivastava, Jegadeesh Ramasamy 
 Department of Community Medicine, Shri Sathya Sai Medical College and Research Institute, Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu, India

Correspondence Address:
Saurabh RamBihariLal Shrivastava
Department of Community Medicine, 3rd Floor, Shri Sathya Sai Medical College and Research Institute, Ammapettai, Thiruporur-Guduvancherry Main Road, Sembakkam, Kancheepuram - 603 108, Tamil Nadu
India




How to cite this article:
Shrivastava SR, Shrivastava PS, Ramasamy J. Extending humanitarian assistance to people in the borno state of Nigeria.Int J Health Syst Disaster Manage 2017;5:49-50


How to cite this URL:
Shrivastava SR, Shrivastava PS, Ramasamy J. Extending humanitarian assistance to people in the borno state of Nigeria. Int J Health Syst Disaster Manage [serial online] 2017 [cited 2024 Mar 29 ];5:49-50
Available from: https://www.ijhsdm.org/text.asp?2017/5/2/49/213885


Full Text



Dear Sir,

Since the insurgence of Boko Haram in 2013 and start of the conflict between insurgents and military forces, the Borno state, located in the northeast part of Nigeria, has been affected the most.[1] As the humanitarian crisis has been continuing for more than 3 years, people from all walks of life have taken the toll.[1] The current estimates released by the World Health Organization (WHO) suggest that more than 6 million people are in urgent need of essential health-care services.[1],[2] Further, nearly 2 million people have been internally displaced in Nigeria, of whom 1.5 million have been displaced in the Borno state alone.[3] However, these estimates might not represent the precise situation as most parts of the region are still inaccessible.[1],[2]

There is no doubt that the health system and the health-care delivery have been jeopardized to a great extent and both essential and emergency care services have suffered.[1],[2],[3],[4] Moreover, the concerns of insecurity, limited access, shortage of health staffs, limited drugs and other medical supplies, and shortcomings in the supply of basic amenities has made it extremely difficult for the people to utilize health facilities optimally.[1],[2],[5],[6],[7] In fact, the WHO has estimated an urgent need of US$ 94 million to ensure that relief measures can be scaled up in the region and desired services can be offered to all.[2]

The findings of the Health Resources Availability Monitoring System (HeRAMS) have indicated that one-third of the existing health-care establishments have been totally damaged, while another one-third of the health facilities are not operational due to the concerns of inaccessibility and lack of security.[2],[8] This results in an immense burden on the remaining one-third of the intact health facilities to meet with the health needs of the millions of vulnerable people.[1],[2] In addition, 6 of 10 health facilities have no access to safe water, and nearly 75% of them have no disinfectant stock.[1],[2] To respond to the destruction of the health facilities, many temporary health facilities have been established, which also caters to the health needs of people living in makeshift arrangements.[2]

The estimates released from the HeRAMS have allowed the local ministry to identify the gaps and thus prioritize each one of them based on the available resources.[2],[8] In short, it has enabled for an improved and a coordinated response to supervise the allocation of scarce resources.[8] Simultaneously, efforts have been taken to strengthen the disease early warning surveillance system, expand the reach of delivery of essential health services (namely, immunization against vaccine-preventable diseases, appropriate management of infectious diseases, etc.), and sensitization of the community health workers to address the issue of health worker shortage.[1],[4],[5],[6],[7]

To conclude, in order to provide humanitarian assistance and to expand the relief measures, there is an indispensable need that international agencies continue to extend their support to bridge the identified lacunae.

Financial support and sponsorship

Nil.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.

References

1World Health Organization. Full Impact of Devastated Health Services in North-Eastern Nigeria Revealed by WHO Report; 2016. Available from: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2016/north-east-nigeria/en/. [Last accessed on 2016 Dec 19].
2World Health Organization. Information on Health Services Essential for Humanitarian Response in Borno State, Nigeria; 2016. Available from: http://www.who.int/features/2016/health-services-nigeria/en/. [Last accessed on 2016 Dec 19].
3Nigerian Crisis WHO Situation Report - Issue #28, 01 - 30 April 2017; 2017. Available from: http://www.afro.who.int/en/nigeria/humanitarian-response.html. [Last accessed on 2017 Jun 09].
4Shrivastava SR, Shrivastava PS, Ramasamy J. Strengthening the health workforce to move forward towards universal health coverage and accomplish the 2030 goals. Ann Trop Med Public Health 2016;9:305-6.
5Burki T. Health crisis intensifying in Nigeria's Borno State. Lancet 2016;388:645.
6World Health Organization. WHO and Partners Support Measles Vaccination in Borno State, Nigeria; 2016. Available from: http://www.who.int/features/2016/measles-vaccination-nigeria/en/. [Last accessed on 2016 Dec 17].
7World Health Organization. WHO Donates Emergency Medical Supplies for The Response in Borno State, Nigeria; 2016. Available from: http://www.who.int/features/2016/emergency-supplies-nigeria/en/. [Last accessed on 2016 Dec 17].
8World Health Organization. Health Resources Availability Monitoring System (HeRAMS); 2016. Available from: http://www.who.int/hac/herams/en/. [Last accessed on 2016 Dec 19].