Malnutrition killed 10 babies in our camp – Waru IDP Official

No fewer than ten babies reportedly died from malnutrition-related complications in Waru Internally Displaced Persons(IDPs) Camp of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.

Fatima Mohammed, the Women Leader of the Camp disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja.

Mohammed said the figure was recorded since the formation of the Camp in 2013 to date.

She said that the issue of malnutrition among infants and children remains a source of concern to many families in the Camp.

”As I am talking to you now, one of the nursing mothers died recently in this camp.

”You see, one of our major problems in this camp is the lack of good medical facilities, portable drinking water and toilet facilities.

”Due to the deteriorating condition of our toilets here many of our women contract infections, some are even chronic infections to the extent that they could not bear children” she said.

While calling for assistance from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, the women leader said the situation requires urgent attention.

”One of our basic needs is a healthcare facility, even though our stay here is temporary because some of us had businesses at home before insurgency displaced us from our various communities.

”Before we used to receive medical and material support from organisations like the former Director-General of the Refugees Commission Imaan Suleiman she supported us a lot and we are grateful.

”But, since they left we have not received a donation from any organisation so far.

”But, we are many in this camp, we are close to three thousand eight hundred and seventy persons.

”Even the empowerment scheme that the former minister of Humanitarian Affairs Sadiya brought to us only seventeen people benefited out of this population.

”The empowerment programme was mainly on skills acquisition because some of us were trained in tailoring and we were given sewing machines,” she said.