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Malaria Hits Benue Internally Displaced Persons’ Camp, 200 Victims Recorded

September 14, 2021

It was learnt that the IDPs suffered the malaria fever in the past one month.

Over 200 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) at the Tse-Yandev camp along Uniagric road in Makurdi, Benue State, are now reportedly down with malaria.

It was learnt that the IDPs suffered the malaria fever in the past one month.

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Daily Trust reports that some of them at the camp in Tse-Yandev, close to the Federal Housing Estate in North Bank, Makurdi, who are currently down are now receiving treatments.

The Camp Chairman, Yiev Gabriel, said there had been an outbreak of malaria in the camp over a month ago, with many of the IDPs both adults and children affected.

“There has been outbreak of malaria in the camp over one month now. And over 200 have so far been affected. We bought drugs to give to those affected.”

“A non governmental organisation (NGO) from Lagos visited the camp at the weekend and when they saw our plight; they donated N50,000 for us to get more malaria drugs. As we speak, just in three days, the drugs we bought with that money have finished.

“The people keep coming to complain of malaria and we give them the medicine. Even now, some are still down with malaria so I want to appeal to government, NGOs and other good spirited individuals to come to our aid,” he said.

Gabriel explained that besides malaria, cough and catarrh were major health challenges bedeviling the IDPs who are surviving by the help of Almighty God, especially as the rains continued to pour down heavily and leaving them helplessly.

He said food, shelter and medical attention were mostly the needs of the IDPs adding that the shanty palm fronds tents where they lived could not save them from rain.

“So, whenever it starts raining, I would relocate them to the uncompleted buildings around the camp. Like on Sunday night, heavy rain which lasted until early hours of Monday. I relocated them into the two buildings within the camp and uncompleted buildings around while others were compelled to stand in the corridors all through. The buildings are not enough to accommodate all of them,” he added.

The camp chairman, who disclosed that the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) were yet to post any staff to their camp which came into existence since December 15, 2020.

He further gave breakdown of the numbers of IDPs which he said was increasing by the day following attacks on various Tiv villages in some Benue areas, Nasarawa and Taraba states.

Gabriel said in the past one month, the total numbers of IDPs in Tse-Yandev camp had increased to 10,407 from the former 10,102 consisting of a total 5384 households making up a total of 3457 males and 6645 females including children.

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PUBLIC HEALTH