The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), has said that the floods that decimated most of Nigeria this year claimed the lives of 600 Nigerians and left another 1.3 million people homeless.
Making the announcement on Saturday during a formal delivery of relief supplies to the Anambra State Government, Juliet Chiluwe, Chief of UNICEF Field Office, Enugu said that the number was based on information made accessible by the government.
Read also: UNICEF to fund post- flood intervention in Anambra
In her address, Chiluwe said, “We bring you greetings from UNICEF, Nigeria and sympathise with the government and people of Anambra State on the recent flooding experience, especially with the women and children who remained vulnerable during these times”.
She explained that since September 2022, the worst floods in a decade affected 2.8 million people, of which an estimated 60 per cent are children, across 34 of the 36 states in Nigeria, adding that of those affected, 1.3 million people have been displaced while over 600 people have died in relation to flooding, according to government data.
“Continuous heavy rains have collapsed hundreds of public health facilities, water systems and sanitation facilities, increasing the risk of waterborne diseases, such as cholera, diarrhoea, and malaria,” she said.
Story was adapted from Thisday.
