The dwindling supply of food to the Internally displaced camps in the North East is having a profound impact on the vulnerable people in the camps, many of them have reportedly died of hunger.
TVC NEWS visited the IDP camp in Damasak, Borno State to see first-hand, their experiences with food insecurity.
Our presence in the camp may have brought some form of hope for them as they quickly organised themselves thinking we had brought the most essential commodity- Food!
The look on their faces speaks to the disappointment they felt when they realised we were not there to share food.
Some followed us around, especially this woman saying ‘We are hungry’ That was how best she could express her situation as she showed us her food ration ticket in the camp.
While the children were happy at the sight of the camera and TV crews, the adults were more concerned about the lack of food supply, which they had not received for several months now.
Some have turned to petty trading including the sale of illegal medication just to make ends meet.
The United Nations through one of its agencies, the World Food Programme started providing food support to the Internally displaced, affected by the Insurgency in the North East in 2015.
Meeting up with the food provision has been greatly affected by the Ukraine-Russia war as the humanitarian situation there also competes for Funding from international donors thereby depleting the food assistance since 2022.
As of 2021, 4.3 Million people were targeted for food assistance in the BAY states, about 43.6 per cent of the required 354 million dollars was received that year.
The competing need to also provide aid for victims of war in Gaza reduced the target for 2024 to 2.8 million people despite the increasing number of displaced persons in the camp, As of the middle of the year, only about 11 per cent of the budgeted 340 million had been received.
Musa Idris is one of the recent returnees who fled to Niger at the peak of the Insurgency, he says he returned about a year and a half ago and has only been given one ration of food since his return.
The Government Secondary School premises turned into IDP camp were originally made to accommodate less than 30,000 people, it is currently gives refuge to more than 65,000 displaced persons.
According to the camp manager, they are approximately 15 households returning to the camp daily from the neighbouring Niger and Chad where they fled to in search of safety.
This has further crowded the camp and and increased competition for scarce resources.
The impact of this lack of food has made malnutrition the most prevalent illness among children in the IDP camp.
The emptiness of the beds may look like good news unlike what we experienced in Bama Camp, but Doctor Kamai, who received us says the rainy season may have come with some challenges in this regards.
Unfortunately, according to the doctor, this increases cases of fatalities.
Hauwa, a 16-year-old mother of a newborn brought in her child at the brink of death.
The 3-week-old baby, tucked under a piece of clothing was brought into the facility with a lot of challenges.
The other children undergoing treatment at the facility according to the doctor were also responding well to the Special meal they were placed on.
9 months old baby Maimuna has also fully recovered from severe Acute malnutrition.
She is the 9th child of her 30-year-old mother, all her other 8 siblings are dead.
To prevent another death, her mother had to trek 30kms from where she stays outside the IDP camp to access the stabilization centre located within the General Hospital.
Children well stabilized like Maimuna, are referred to the Outpatient Therapeutic Programme within the IDP camp.
The OTP also attends to children with symptoms of Malnutrition.
The centre says it currently has about 269 children in its care.
We also met baby Sale Sadiq at the OTP centre, his mother also just returned to the camp from Niger and therefore is unregistered, her lack of access to food has an effect on her son.
This appetite test carried out on him, according to the attendant, shows he suffers from malnutrition with complications and needs to be taken to the stabilization centre immediately.
Men and women of the GSS IDP camp in Damasak say their only hope of survival is fetching firewood and selling within the Damasak Community to earn money to feed.
Without support to feed, the vulnerability of these displaced persons may have stretched to the point of hanging on a thin thread, requiring urgent help from both the Federal Government and its international partners.
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