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奈及利亞東北部超過50萬人垂危 無國界醫生呼籲緊急援助

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文/無國界醫生(MSF)
 
國際醫療人道組織無國界醫生(Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières,簡稱 MSF)指出,在奈及利亞東北部波諾州(Borno state)許多村鎮,共有超過50萬人住在極度惡劣和不衛生的環境,呼籲為這些處於垂危的人群提供緊急援助。

▲國際醫療人道組織無國界醫生指出,在奈及利亞東北部波諾州(Borno state)許多村鎮,共有超過50萬人住在極度惡劣和不衛生的環境。More than 500,000 people are living in catastrophic and unsanitary conditions in a number of villages and towns across Borno state, northeastern Nigeria, according to international medical organisation Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) . (圖/Benoit Finck/MSF)

剛從接近喀麥隆邊境的班基(Banki)回來的無國界醫生緊急項目經理羅伯特(Hugues Robert)說:「就像許多其他地區,在班基的人們幾乎無法得到人道援助。人們被集中在一座半毀的城鎮裡,遭受隔離和中斷對向一切聯繫,完全依賴極度貧乏的外界援助。如果我們不迅速地設法為他們提供食物、飲水與緊急醫療物資,營養不良及疾病將會繼續肆虐。」

班基附近一帶,只能在軍隊陪同下前往,該地區現正棲身了約1.5萬人,絕大部分人因為衝突而逃離家園。無國界醫生的醫療隊伍估計當地死亡率極高。組織在對當地人口進行一項快速評估後發現,過去6個月以來,群體中每12人就有1人死亡。

受到博科聖地(Boko Haram)與其他軍隊在這地區衝突的直接影響,此地居民已受苦多年。人們因攻擊或戰鬥而被迫離開家園,現在又面對已經崩解的本地經濟,貿易道路已經被切斷,農作物與家畜也被破壞。多數人口已經缺乏糧食數個月,目前健康狀況嚴重不佳。

其中,五歲以下兒童的情況尤其令人憂慮。在我們篩查過的兒童之中, 15%患上嚴重急性營養不良,性命垂危。在班基鎮,接近三分之一兒童營養不良。

▲在巴馬(Bama)鎮,無國界醫生隊伍估計15%兒童患上嚴重急性營養不良。In the town of Bama, MSF teams estimate that 15 percent of children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition.(圖/Benoit Finck/MSF)

為回應此緊急人道危機,7月20至22日期間,無國界醫生為超過4,900名兒童提供治療性餵食及麻疹疫苗注射。一共3,600個家庭得到緊急糧食援助。我們的隊伍亦把六名處於情況危急的病人轉送至位於喀麥隆摩哈(Mora)的醫院。無國界醫生會繼續在班基提供乾淨飲水及改善當地衛生情況。

班基的狀況,與奈及利亞政府、無國界醫生以及其他救援組織在波諾州不同地方發現的情況相似。例如在巴馬(Bama)鎮,無國界醫生隊伍估計15%兒童患上嚴重急性營養不良。

羅伯特說:「我們漸漸發現這次危機的嚴重性,我們尤其關注那些我們無法接觸到的偏遠地區居民。隨著雨季的來臨,我們同時意識到瘧疾的威脅愈來愈大。」

「我們正決定與奈及利亞政府合作進行長期行動,希望盡力援助這些脆弱的人群。但持續的衝突和道路有時佈有地雷,令當地局勢極不安全。雨季的來臨導致道路滿佈泥濘、無法通行,令物流運輸更難處理。在這些不穩定、危險的環境下,讓人們在較安全的地方尋找庇護,不論是奈及利亞抑或鄰近國家,都是重要的,而且重病的人必須能夠被轉介至區內的其他醫院。」

無國界醫生呼籲國際組織為波諾州居民,調動緊急食物及醫療援助。

博科聖地的襲擊以及為遏制該暴力而發動的軍事行動,均讓這個地區快將達到崩潰的臨界點。超過270萬人痛失家園,流離失所,使查德湖盆地成為非洲現時最大的人道危機。為回應持續的流徙及人道救援需求,無國界醫生已顯著地擴展在查德、喀麥隆、尼日及奈及利亞的查德湖區上的醫療服務及援助。於2015年,我們的醫療隊伍提供了超過34萬宗診症,治療了13,000名營養不良的兒童,並為超過58,500人接種預防霍亂的疫苗。

▲無國界醫生在奈及利亞於三天內為超過4,900名兒童提供治療性餵食及麻疹疫苗注射,一共3,600個家庭得到緊急糧食援助。To respond to this humanitarian emergency in Nigeria, MSF teams provided therapeutic feeding to more than 4,900 children and vaccinated them against measles in 3 days.(圖/Benoit Finck/MSF)
 



MSF warns of large-scale humanitarian disaster in northeastern Nigeria
 
More than 500,000 people are living in catastrophic and unsanitary conditions in a number of villages and towns across Borno state, northeastern Nigeria, according to international medical organisation Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which is calling for the provision of emergency aid for those people in immediate danger.
 
“In Banki, as in a number of other areas, people have almost no access to humanitarian aid,” says MSF’s emergency programme manager Hugues Robert, who has just returned from this town near the Cameroonian border. “People are gathered, isolated and cut off in a half-destroyed town, and are totally dependent on external assistance, which is cruelly lacking. If we don’t manage quickly to provide them with food, water and urgent medical supplies, malnutrition and disease will continue to wreak havoc.”
 
The area around Banki, accessible only with a military escort, is currently sheltering some 15,000 people, the vast majority of them displaced from their homes by conflict. MSF medical teams estimate extremely high mortality rates. As many as one in 12 of the population may have died in the past six months, the organisation found after carrying out a rapid assessment of the local population.
 

The inhabitants of this region have suffered for years from the direct impact of the conflict between Boko Haram and the armies in the region. Forced to leave their homes by attacks and fighting, today they are faced with a local economy that has collapsed, trade routes that have been cut and crops and livestock that have been destroyed. Much of the population has been affected by months of food shortages, and their health situation is now catastrophic.

For children under five, in particular, the situation is especially concerning. Fifteen percent of children screened by our teams are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, putting their lives at risk. In the town of Banki, nearly one in three children is malnourished.

To respond to this humanitarian emergency, between 20 and 22 July MSF teams provided therapeutic feeding to more than 4,900 children and vaccinated them against measles. A total of 3,600 families received emergency food aid and our teams were able to transfer six people in a critical condition to a hospital in Mora, Cameroon. In Banki, MSF will also continue to provide clean water and improve sanitation.

 
The situation in Banki is similar to that found by the Nigerian authorities and other MSF teams and aid organisations in different parts of Borno state. In the town of Bama, for example, MSF teams estimate that 15 percent of children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition.
 
"We’re gradually discovering the extent of this crisis and we are particularly concerned for the inhabitants of the remote areas that we have not been able to access,” says Robert. “As the rainy season approaches, we are also aware of the growing threat of malaria.”
 
"We are committing to a long term operation in collaboration with the Nigerian authorities, and want to do our utmost to assist these vulnerable people,” says Robert. “However, there is a high level of insecurity in the region, with ongoing conflict and roads that are sometimes mined. Logistics are further complicated by the onset of the rainy season, which makes roads muddy and impassable. In conditions as precarious and dangerous as these, it is essential that people are allowed to seek refuge in safer areas, either in Nigeria or in neighbouring countries, and that those people who are seriously ill are referred to hospitals in the region.”
 
MSF calls on international organisations to mobilise to provide emergency food and medical aid to the people of Borno state.
 
The region is reaching breaking point due to attacks by Boko Haram, and a strong military response which has been launched to curb the violence. With more than 2.7 million people uprooted from their homes, the Lake Chad basin is currently home to one of the African continent’s biggest humanitarian crises. In response to the continued displacement and humanitarian needs, MSF has significantly scaled up its medical activities and assistance to people in the Lake Chad region in Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria. In 2015, our medical teams provided more than 340,000 consultations, treated 13,000 children for malnutrition and vaccinated more than 58,500 people against cholera.

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