On 12 December 2014, 10 cases of cholera was reported in the Chetimari area of Diffa region in Niger. By 14 December 2014, 91 cases and four deaths had been reported; and by 16 December this had risen to 137 cases, and eight deaths.
From 1 January to 30 November 2014, there had been 260 cases of cholera reported, and as such this increasing number of cases is a cause for concern. The Ministry of Public Health (MPH) in Niger has declared it an epidemic, and the called for international assistance. The epidemic has been attributed to an influx of refugees from neighbouring Nigeria (Damassak region), which was caused by increasing insecurity in the North East of the country as a result of Boko Haram attacks in the area. As of 18 December 2014, 96 per cent of cases (131) are within the Nigerian refugee population; and 4 per cent (six) within the host population. In the Diffa region, the situation is exacerbated by the presence of up to 100,000 people that have been displaced are being hosted in provisional camps and families. No cases have been reported in the camps so far, however the Chetimari area is located 3km from the Gagamari provisional camp, which hosts 16,000 approx. people, and as such the population remain extremely vulnerable. As of 20 December 2014, 183 cases have been registered since the start of the epidemic. The health centres In the Bandi, Chetimari, Diffa and Zarwaram health centres, which are receiving the most cases, the estimated population of these areas is which receive most of the cases are population by an estimated number of 91,113 people.
Niger + 1 more