By: Ahmed Rufa’i Dutse
A total of 25 pregnant women delivered new babies at the Karnaya Internally Displayed Persons (IDPs) Camp in Dutse Local Government Area (LGA) of Jigawa State.
Sources told Global Upfront Newspapers (GUN) that over 200 households were taking shelter at the only Primary School located at Karnaya for over three months now.
Karnaya community is just 12 kilometres from Dutse, capital of JIgawa State capital and is one of the communities that was sacked by the devastating flood in the State.
The new born babies were delivered in less than two weeks in the IDP Camp and another source said they are yet to be immunised against child killer diseases.
When our Reporter visited the IDP Camp, he was told the 25 women who have so far arrived heavily pregnant, regretting that the children were delivered were without the presence of a skilled birth attendant.
Speaking to Global Upfront Newspapers (GUN), one of the leaders in the IDP Camp, Malam Falalu Ado, lamented that women were delivering babies in the Camp without medical and professional care.
According to him “we are lucky enough to have the women delivering without complications. They are being saved by God Almighty. And nobody in the name of a government official is assisting us in the camp.”
Malam Falalu Ado expressed dismay on how the government abandoned them since they were displayed and relocated to the camps.
He noted that “life at the IDP Camp is difficult as assistance is not forthcoming. And we are living in the mercy of God. We need food and medical attention because there is also reported (suspected) cases of cholera outbreak in the Camp.”
Malam Ado disclosed that government actions on them is disappointing as there is no basic social amenities in the camp.
But he expressed appreciation to the Emirs of Dutse and Gumel, Alhaji Nuhu Sunusi and Alhaji Ahmed Muhammad Sani, whom he said sympathised and donated food items to them.
“We just finished the naming ceremony of one of the babies. He was named after the Emir of Gumel, Ahmed Muhammad Sani. We are appreciative of the kind gesture he did, that is why we reciprocated and named the child after him”, he emphasised.
The Jigawa State government established Karniya IDP camp after over 500 structures, mostly mud houses, were submerged by the flood, forcing the entire community to relocate to uncompleted filling stations and a school in the community located at the Kano Maiduguri highway.
There are fears that the flood disaster and the alleged nonchalant attitude of government officials may contribute to the child mortality rate in the State as women give birth in open spaces without proper medication, which makes them more vulnerable to diseases.
When contacted through his mobile phone, the Executive Secretary of Jigawa State Primary Health Care Development Board (SPHCDB), Dr Kabir Ibrahim, said the women delivering at the Camp are doing so at their wish because there are at least three vehicles meant for the Emergency Transport Scheme that is meant for the free service of expectant mothers in the Karnaya community.
The Executive Secretary added that government provides vehicles on standby and that the women have no reason to deliver at the Camp.
Dr Ibrahim explained that “following their relocation to the Camp, they are closer to nearby health facilities in Dutse, Shuwarin and other places which are just 15 minutes drive.
“Traditionally, some people use to give birth at home, which is not safe. The Camp is also not safe because there is no cleanliness and sterilisation and health workers cannot attend to the delivery mother in such an environment. The best they can do is to move to the nearby facility for delivery.”