Anambra State Government on Friday debunked reports that many deaths have been recorded at the various holding centres for persons displaced by the flooding ravaging parts of the state.
Anambra State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Afam Obidike debunked the report in a chat with TNC correspondent in Awka.
There have been insinuations in some sections of the online media that persons displaced by flood are suffering hunger, malnutrition, mosquito bites, government rejection and abandonment at the holding centres across the state.
But Commissioner Obidike says all the rumours are totally untrue because flood victims are getting the very best of care and attention.
Obidike explained that the Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs are receiving comprehensive medical care in all the camps across the state and that Governor Chukwuma Soludo has ensured constant supply of drugs and other medications to meet the health needs of the flood victims.
He maintained that government is spending huge sums of money to mitigate possibilities of outbreaks or epidemics, as he observed that the victims are clustered in their respective camps.
“Apart from surgeries, antenatal care, routine antimalaria drugs and some others administered on them, government has taken immunization to the various camps to inoculate children against preventable diseases.
“No deaths have been recorded at the holding centres.
“All the medical teams in all the identified internally displaced persons camps are working day and night; providing adequate response services and ensuring good hygiene practices in the camps due to population densities,” he said.
According to him, most of the IDP camps are linked to general hospitals or primary healthcare centres for referrals especially at General Hospital Onitsha, where the Commissioner informed that Governor Soludo mandated that no flood victim referred to the hospital should pay a dime after treatment of any ailment.
The Commissioner also stated that Caesarian sections have been held at the IDP camps where women delivered twin babies safe and sound and they didn’t pay a Kobo.
He said; “Routine antenatal checks and scans are also being conducted on pregnant women at the IDP camps and their routine drugs also given to them.
“The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have both taken a tour of the IDP camps across the state and did not ascertain cholera outbreak or any other outbreak while extolling hygiene practices at the holding centres.
“The Ministry of Health has distributed more than a thousand mosquito nets to IDP camps and prior to the flooding, about 3.8 million mosquito nets were shared to Anambra people to protect them from mosquito bites and malaria infections.
“Governor Soludo had on his visits to the flood victims’ camps personally distributed mosquito nets to them and has consistently extending compassion, affection and empathy to the IDPs.”
He said the governor has paid unscheduled visits to over six internally displaced persons camps and on each occasion reassured the flood victims that his government will not abandon them to their fate.
Again, the Commissioner reiterated the fact that government will begin immunization at the IDP camps inorder to administer COVID-19 vaccines and other vaccines to forestall health crisis, stressing that government will continue to carry out comprehensive healthcare services, provide food and other relief materials for the upkeep and well-being of flood victims in their respective holding centres.
