Over 200 affected as Malaria hits Benue IDPs Camp

Over 200 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) have suffered malaria in the past one month at the Tse-Yandev camp along Uniagric road in Makurdi, Benue State.

Our correspondent, who visited the camp located at Tse -Yandev, close to the Federal Housing Estate in North Bank, Makurdi, reports that some of the IDPs are still down with malaria and receiving treatment.

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 – 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 donated N50,000 for us to get more malaria drugs. As we speak, just in three days, the drugs we bought with that money has 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 said 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 the IDPs were mostly in need of food, shelter and medical attention, stressing that the shanty palm fronds tents in which they dwell cannot prevent the rains on them.

“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 December15, 2020, further gave breakdown of the numbers of IDPs which he said was increasing by the day following attacks on their 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 swelled 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.

Meanwhile, the Benue SEMA boss, Emmanuel Shior, was not in his office to react to the development when Daily Trust visited.

Calls and text messages put through his line did not deliver.