Flood: NMA raises alarm over outbreak of epidemics

THE Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) National Committee on Epidemics and Pandemics Awareness has called on governments at all levels to put measures in place to prevent the impending outbreak of epidemics in the aftermath of devastating flooding.

In a statement made available to journalists on Monday by the chairman, Dr Abubakar Hassan, and Secretary, Dr Enejo Joseph, in Lokoja, the NMA National Committee on Epidemics and Pandemics Awareness called on governments to provide potable water to the affected communities as the bodies of water in these areas are heavily polluted and unfit for consumption.

According to the statement, the provision of water purifiers as announced by the Federal Government is a step in the right direction and should be extended to all the affected communities.

Another measure that should be taken, according to NMA, is the provision of habitable settlements with insecticide-treated bed nets.

The statement reads in part, “This year’s flooding took the nation by storm. In terms of intensity, casualties and spread, it’s unprecedented, affecting almost 34 states of the federation. Scores of people were killed, properties worth billions were damaged, and for the very first time in history, Nigerians witnessed coffins, probably containing human remains exhumed from the place of burial by the ravaging flood floating around their places of habitation.”

“The attention of the NMA, under its President, Dr Uche Rowland Ojinmah, has been drawn to the above ugly development and its implications for public health. The NMA, as an association with the interest of the health of Nigerians, as a foremost priority, is disturbed by this disaster and what it portends for public health.”