LARA ADEJORO writes that victims of the recent flooding need mental health support as the floods worsen the country’s disease burden
As floodwaters ravage villages and towns in Nigeria, there are worries over the increase in mental health disorders, chronic diseases, malnutrition, and disruption in healthcare services.
As of mid-October, the disaster has affected over two million people -including 1,302,589 people displaced, 2,407 injured, and over 600 dead with many houses put under water.
The disaster, which has affected over 30 states, has also destroyed thousands of hectares of farmland, worsening fears of food shortage.
The Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu attributed the cause of the floods to the tributaries of River Benue.
He said, “The dam releases water; sometimes it releases water without notice and when it does that, it impacts communities downstream. But it is not the main reason you have floods in this country.
“The tributaries of River Benue are the main cause. And this year, the rains have been unprecedented. The transboundary waters that even come into this country from Rivers Niger and Benue constitute only 20 per cent of the freshwater that flows into the country.
“Eighty per cent of the flood is the water we are blessed with from the sky falling on Mambila and Jos Plateau. Most of this flow is from Nigeria.”
According to UNICEF’s Children’s Climate Risk Index, Nigeria is considered at ‘extremely high risk of the impacts of climate change, ranking second out of 163 countries.
Even before the floods, there has been a disparity in access to health services, food inflation, and the outbreak of diseases. The floods have, however, added to the already precarious health woes in the country.
Also, experts say, poor mental health, chronic diseases, and disabilities are potential threats.
Unfortunately, the most vulnerable communities pay the heaviest price of a climate crisis.
Poor mental health
People displaced from their homes are vulnerable to mental health problems.
A senior lecturer at the Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Dr. Charles Umeh said the mental health implication of the flood is trauma.
Dr. Umeh said, “People seeing their valuable goods destroyed will be traumatised. There will be physical and psychological needs. The physical needs are shelter, food, and clothing; these are what the relief team will do. Thereafter, there will be an assessment of their mental health. Some people could have lost everything they value in the floods, there’s going to be anxiety, depression, and flashbacks associated with trauma. Trauma is a situation that evokes emotions and this is one such situation. A lot of them can be suffering from acute stress disorder.
“Every emergency team must have a strong mental health team but I don’t think that is what they have presently.’’
Also, a public health physician and Senior Vice President for Africa, Human Health Education and Research Foundation, Dr. Ifeanyi Nsofor said displacement and loss of homes and businesses are traumatic events and victims would find it difficult to cope with the mental trauma. They need mental health support as well as other kinds of support.”
Already, the Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria says 60 million Nigerians are suffering from mental illnesses.
The President of the association, Prof. Taiwo Obindo said, “For an estimated population of 220 million, according to the latest data by the National Bureau of Statistics, WHO says one in four Nigerians, an average of 50-60 million people, is suffering from mental illnesses.”
Chronic diseases
Adding, Nsofor said, “It’s likely there are victims who are known to have chronic diseases such as hypertension and their medications could be lost.
“They may not have access to health facilities to replenish their drugs. This could lead to the development of complications. For instance, hypertensive patients may have a stroke when they do not take their drugs regularly,” he noted.
The physician said local, state, and federal governments must be proactive in flood mitigation as well as providing support when flooding happens.
Waterborne diseases
It has been documented that extreme rain and flooding bring cholera and other deadly waterborne diseases. Other common waterborne diseases are typhoid, diarrhoea, and typhoid.
The risk of transmission of cholera is higher in areas that lack adequate sanitation facilities and a regular supply of clean water.
People who contracted cholera can shed the bacteria in their stools for up to 10 days, adding to the risk of it spreading.
If the disease is not well managed, it can lead to kidney failure and death.
Already, a total of 2,187 confirmed cases of cholera were recorded in 31 states from January to September 25 in Nigeria, with over 200 deaths.
The states are Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ekiti, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara.
The NCDC said, “Unsafe practices such as improper disposal of refuse and open defecation endanger the safety of water used for drinking and personal use. These practices lead to the spread of water-borne diseases such as cholera. Without proper WaSH, Nigeria will continue to be at risk of cholera outbreaks along with the associated suffering and deaths.”
Another concern is the likely rise in vector-borne diseases.
Stagnant water caused by heavy rainfall is a breeding ground for mosquitoes, and therefore promotes the potential for exposure of the disaster-affected population to infections such as malaria and dengue fever.
Disrupted care
There is also a concern that the floods will disrupt much-needed immunisation programmes.
Before the floods, Nigeria had reported 36 cases of vaccine-derived polio according to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
With the floods, children are at an increased risk of vaccine-preventable diseases as some facilities providing life-saving vaccines were washed away.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has said a total of 18,545 confirmed cases of measles have been recorded across 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The NCDC said the country had also recorded 234 deaths from the infectious disease as of week 39 in the year.
The centre also disclosed that the country has recorded 961 suspected cases and 56 deaths of meningitis in 32 states, including the Federal Capital Territory across 159 local government areas so far in 2022.
Director of Programmes, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, Philip Jakpor said the avoidable floods that have engulfed states across the federation will leave behind a crisis of unimaginable proportion except if government at all levels show seriousness in addressing the immediate and long-term fallouts.
He said: “Aside from affecting the integrity of the buildings and other structures currently underwater, it is likely that there’s going to be a high incidence of cholera across the federation when the waters recede. Boreholes and open wells are already contaminated by the flood waters and sewage which have been flowing freely without borders in communities that are flooded.
“Kogi most certainly will be affected by this crisis going by how it has been underwater for days. There will also be an increase in cases of malaria in communities where the flood has formed stagnant water.
“We anticipate that the government will learn from this incident and do the needful. The buffer dam that will assimilate flood waters whenever the Lagdo Dam is opened should be completed to save Nigerians’ avoidable trauma.”
Jakpor said the claim by the Minister of Water Resources that rain is solely responsible for the flood is a laughable distraction.
“Government must ameliorate the plight of victims by providing immediate relief and other vital compensation. With the warning from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2022 report that floods and other disasters like this will increase in Africa, we anticipate the Federal Government will plan by working with the states to better prepare for 2023 and beyond.
“They should build shelters on high ground to accommodate people in the frontline communities. Agencies like the National Emergency Management Agency and their state-level counterparts should be talking about procuring choppers and speed boats for emergency rescue operations subsequently. Aside from these, awareness of the threats to coastal communities must be stepped up. The National Orientation Agency should be at the fore of such information dissemination,” he said.
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