Nigeria Situation Report, 22 July 2024

HIGHLIGHTS

• United Nations condemns recent suicide bomb attacks in Gwoza, Borno State.
• Critical shortage of supplies to address malnutrition in the BAY states.
• Thousands left homeless as fire and rainstorms destroy IDP shelters in Bama, Damboa, Monguno, and Rann.

BACKGROUND

Situation Overview

United Nations condemns recent suicide bomb attacks in Gwoza, Borno State

The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator (HC/RC), Mr. Mohamed Malick Fall has strongly condemned the suicide bomb attacks on civilian populations in the Gwoza Local Government Area, Borno State on Saturday, 29 June 2024. While the exact number of people killed and injured could not be confirmed, a statement by the office of Nigeria’s Vice President said 32 people, including a humanitarian worker, were killed and 42 injured in the attack. Members of a non-state armed group (NSAG) allegedly perpetrated the attack during a wedding party in Gwoza town with a person-borne improvised explosive device (PBIED). This marks the first such attack in more than five years.

In a statement issued on 30 June, the HC/RC reminded all parties to the conflict to adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians from harm. He also conveyed his deepest condolences to the people of Gwoza and the Borno State Government. He reiterated the United Nations' commitment to support the victims of the attack.

Monguno, Ngala and Nganzai rank highest as malnutrition cases surge in Borno State

The nutrition sector reported the need to procure commodities urgently to avert a stockout and secure ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) and ready-to-use supplementary food (RUSF) for treating acutely malnourished children in the BAY states. There is an alarming trend of rapidly increasing incidence of malnutrition, far beyond the numbers planned for in the response plan. Recent data from nutrition sector assessments and admission trends across Borno State indicate that malnutrition cases continued to increase in June 2024 with Monguno, Ngala and Nganzai Local Government Areas (LGAs) being the worst affected. These are among the top five LGAs in Borno State with the highest admission rates of children diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) with complications such as acute watery diarrhoea, acute respiratory infection, and suspected measles.

SMART survey and humanitarian situation monitoring (HSM) data show that five malnutrition hotspot LGAs already surpass the Global acute malnutrition (GAM) threshold (10-15 per cent). The surveys show that the GAM rate in Monguno is 26.7 per cent, 35.1 per cent in Gwoza, 19.3 in Nganzai, 13.2 per cent in Ngala, and 15.9 per cent in Bama. These results indicate that the malnutrition cases in these LGAs are classified as serious or critical emergencies requiring urgent response.

A mid-upper arm circumference mass screening campaign conducted in Monguno between mid-May and June 2024 showed that 22 per cent (1,618) of the 7,250 children screened were malnourished. This surpasses the 10 per cent threshold set by the World Health Organization. Over 460 of the children were diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition, while more than 1,150 were categorized as moderately acutely malnourished. Nutrition partners reported that the spike had resulted in a 55 per cent increase in the stabilisation centre admission rate in May and June compared to about 40 per cent admissions rate in April 2024. According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), an estimated 10,980 out of over 43,570 under-five children in Monguno would suffer from severe acute malnutrition between May 2023 and April 2024. To address the rising malnutrition cases, partners increased the bed capacity at the stabilisation centre from 35 to 50. However, the Centre remains overstretched, resulting in a shortage of beds and resources to meet the needs of the affected people.

Partners conducted a mass MUAC screening for 42,328 children in Ngala LGA from 1-30 June. Of those screened 755 were diagnosed with SAM and 3,002 with moderate acute malnutrition (MAM). These figures represent a 43 per cent increase in SAM cases and a 57 per cent increase in MAM cases compared to the figures in May. The rising malnutrition cases have overstretched the 20-bed capacity of the stabilization centre in Ngala hampering the quality of care and support to all affected children. This is risking further deterioration of health outcomes for malnourished children.

The assessment data from the nutrition sector partners also indicates that the level of acute malnutrition among new arrivals from hard-to-reach communities across Borno State for May 2024 is critical (IPC Acute Malnutrition Phase 4). This shows deterioration when compared to the results gathered in April. This spike in malnutrition cases is attributed to high-stress levels among displaced households to meet food needs, high retail prices for staple foods, high food consumption gaps and morbidity, as well as a lack of access to improved sanitation facilities. This trend of high acute malnutrition is expected to worsen as the lean season continues.

The situation is the same in Yobe State. Recent nutrition surveys and analysis of acute malnutrition admission trends indicate that at least four LGAs are experiencing a critical nutrition situation. The Nutrition sector has rung a nutrition crisis alarm bell for Machina. Children in extremely hard-to-reach villages in Bursari, Geidam and Gujba LGAs are particularly at risk of starvation in the absence of urgent humanitarian assistance

As it stands, the BAY states humanitarian response is facing ‘critical funding gaps’ amounting to $716.8 million, with many programmes already closed due to insufficient resources and several cluster pipelines (food security, nutrition, health, and WASH) at risk of imminent closure between June and September 2024. Given physical access challenges due to flooding and poor road network during the rainy season, urgent funding is required to stockpile vital food and nutrition assistance in areas at risk of being cut off as early as mid-July.

Thousands homeless as fire and rainstorms destroy IDP homes in Bama, Damboa, Monguno, and Rann

Humanitarian partners have reported that over 21,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) are sleeping in the open without access to shelter in Bama, Damboa, Monguno, and Rann towns in Borno State. This is following multiple fire outbreaks, heavy rains and windstorms that destroyed their shelters between May and June 2024.

Partners reported 37 fire outbreaks across nine IDP camps in Monguno LGA, affected more than 4,400 households, leaving close to 20,000 people without shelter in the first half of the year (January – June). At least five people died and over 10 others were injured during these incidents. Cooking with open flames, combined with inadequate spacing between shelters were the reported causes of these frequent fire outbreaks. Humanitarian partners and government officials are working to improve preventive measures and enhance community firefighting structures to mitigate further fire outbreaks. This includes increasing fire safety awareness and sensitization among IDPs, training communities in firefighting techniques, establishing fire brigades within camps and providing firefighting equipment.

They also reported that at least six people including a child were killed, and several others injured due to heavy rains and windstorms that occurred between 28 May and 14 June in Damboa, Bama and Rann. In Damboa, the storms destroyed more than 2,000 shelters killing five people and leaving over 11,000 people in 1,900 IDP households homeless. Humanitarian assets, including safe spaces operated by the International Medical Corps (IMC) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), as well as a health facility and temporary learning spaces managed by Médecins du Monde (MDM), were also impacted.

In Rann, Kala-Balge LGA, one child was killed and nine people injured when a shelter collapsed during a rainstorm. In Bama, partners reported that the storms destroyed 114 shelters housing 215 households. Humanitarian partners have mobilized to provide shelter repair/reinforcement kits for the affected households.