Residents and local officials said on Thursday that a cholera outbreak in the Bukkuyum region of Zamfara state, northwest Nigeria, has killed at least eight people and infected more than 200 others in 11 towns. The situation is made worse by instability and restricted access to healthcare.
In Nigeria, where health officials report severe water scarcity in both rural and urban slums, cholera, a water-borne illness, is a prevalent occurrence.
The affected rural communities, including Nasarawa-Burkullu, Gurusu, and Adabka, have been overwhelmed, with many patients treated at home due to the lack of primary healthcare facilities.
“We have over 21 patients presently admitted, although three died due to delays in reaching Nasarawa General Hospital,” Muhammad Jibci, village head of Gurusu told Reuters by phone late on Thursday.
Another inhabitant of the impacted towns, Ya’u Umar, reported that 53 persons in his hamlet were afflicted. “We don’t have drips or medication. We can’t go to the city because of bandits,” he remarked.
Travel and farming have become risky in recent months due to the escalation of violence in Zamfara, which is the epicenter of attacks by armed men known locally as bandits. Gangs frequently extort farming villages and kidnap tourists and people for ransom.
Federal legislator Sulaiman Abubakar Gumi urged the Zamfara government and foreign nongovernmental organizations to take immediate action. “Any delay will cost more lives, especially among women and children,” he added, calling for the establishment of cholera treatment facilities and emergency response teams.
Zamfara health authorities have yet to issue an official statement on the outbreak.
ABUJA (Reuters) –
