International Medical Corps is deploying an Emergency Response Team (ERT) to Niger to help families fleeing the violence of Boko Haram in Nigeria. The Niger ERT is comprised of emergency response and regional experts and will augment the work of International Medical Corps staff already in Nigeria, as well as in neighboring Cameroon and Chad.
“In the wake of continued attacks by Boko Haram, the security situation continues to deteriorate in Nigeria and families are fleeing their homes with little more than the clothes on their backs,” said Chris Skopec, Director of International Operations at International Medical Corps. “Our team in Niger will focus on providing emergency and basic health care, nutrition support, and water, sanitation and hygiene programs for those in need in Diffa region.”
The influx of refugees, returnees, and internally displaced persons in Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria is putting further strain on already stretched resources and basic services. In Cameroon, International Medical Corps is providing emergency medical and mental health care services to Nigerian refugees in Minawao camp and nutrition care and referral services at the Gadala health post in Mokolo district. International Medical Corps programs in Chad include collaborating with the Ministry of Health to provide Ngouboua health centers with primary health care, maternal health, and nutrition support and managing the nutrition stabilization center at Bagasola Hospital. In Nigeria, International Medical Corps is scaling up routine immunization and supplementary immunization activities, especially polio vaccination activities, for children under 5 years of age in Kano state.