Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi
The international medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) also known as Doctors Without Borders has supported the health authorities in Bauchi State to start an inpatient treatment centre for the children suffering from malnutrition.
According to a statement issued by Francis Dorbor, MSF project coordinator in Bauchi, which was made available to journalists yesterday, “The new project by MSF includes a 55-bed inpatient therapeutic feeding centre (ITFC) for the treatment of severely malnourished children with complications in Ganjuwa Local Government Area.”
During the assessment, a total of 6,667 children were screened for malnutrition by the MSF teams. Of these, 14.8 per cent were malnourished and in need of medical care indicating high needs of nutritional services in the area.
“A limited access to primary healthcare services especially nutritional care for children is a major health concern in Bauchi State. We are pleased to extend our support to the health authorities to begin the nutritional services that are one of the key needs in the area pointed out by our screening results. We are also aware that the peak of hunger period is arriving, and the situation may get worse,” Dorbor said.
According to the Project Coordinator, “We are also working on starting paediatric services for children under 15 years, especially treatment of malaria, cholera and other seasonal diseases.
“Bauchi experienced a big cholera outbreak last year with 19,519 cases recorded across the state. Of these, MSF provided treatment to 11,189 patients in two Cholera Treatment Centres (CTCs) in Bauchi town and Toro LGA. In addition, we also set up 19 oral rehydration points across the state.
“MSF team also responded to the more recent Lassa fever outbreak in the state where 95 cases were recorded with 10 deaths. Out of these confirmed cases, 26 were healthcare workers that got infected while providing care to the patients.
Following the increasing cases of Lassa fever in Bauchi State and the high number of infected healthcare workers, MSF provided its support at the isolation centre of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital from March to May 2022.
He added that: “Our teams supported the health authorities to treat 74 patients and provided training to the Ministry of Health (MoH) staff on treatment and prevention of Lassa fever. In Bauchi, MSF recruited community health workers who go into the community to enlighten the people on causes of disease and the preventive measures they could take to avoid or curb the spread of diseases.”:
