The National Committee on Diseases and Pandemic Awareness of the Nigerian Medical Association has urged all levels of government to take action to stop the potential emergence of epidemics in the wake of the nation’s disastrous flooding.
The NMA National Committee on Epidemics and Pandemic Awareness called on governments to provide portable water to the affected communities in a statement made available to journalists on Monday by the Chairman, Dr. Abubakar Hassan, and the Secretary, Dr. Enejo Joseph, in Lokoja stating that the bodies of water in these areas were severely polluted and unfit for consumption.
The Federal Government’s announcement to provide water purifiers is a positive move, and it should be implemented in all the impacted communities, the statement claims.
The NMA recommends that bed nets that have been treated with insecticides be made available in habitable settlements.
The statement read in part, “This year’s flooding took the nation by storm. In terms of intensity, casualties and spread, it’s unprecedented, affecting almost thirty-four 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.
“It is against this backdrop we are calling on Government to maintain and indeed step up the existing programmes on immunisation. Awareness campaigns on personal hygiene such as hand washing, proper washing of utensils, and environmental sanitation should also be intensified.
“Although the Government is making efforts in providing potable water, victims should be advised to, where necessary, boil their water, allow it cool before drinking.
“This year’s flood disaster is unprecedented. It’s imperative that adequate measures are instituted to avert epidemics. The cost of prevention is far cheaper than that of managing any outbreak of epidemic. A stitch in time saves nine.”
