Borno state is experiencing one of its worst floods in three decades, with vast areas of farmland, infrastructure and hundreds of homes partially or completely destroyed.
According to government figures, at least 30 people have died as a result of the disaster. However, residents say the number is higher because some deaths were not documented.
The devastating floods have also displaced more than 400,000 people. Residents are seeking shelter in public schools and unfinished buildings in deplorable conditions.
The floods in Maiduguri were triggered by the collapse of the Alau Dam, the city's main source of water. Houses were washed away to the last brick in the Gwange and Gamboru areas of the state. The water has receded but federal and state authorities are still struggling to rescue people, and sometimes bodies, trapped in buildings.
One of the most affected infrastructures is the Maiduguri University Teaching Hospital (UMTH). The facility suffered significant water damage and was forced to suspend operations for two weeks.
Although the hospital management said it would resume some services on Monday (yesterday), the status of some of the hospital's equipment has yet to be determined.
In this interview with Newslodgereporters, the hospital’s medical director, Ahmad Ahidjo, said that the facility needs urgent support to get back to full capacity. He also gives details about the rescue efforts when the flooding occurred.
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Extracts:
PT: We stand in solidarity with you and the university community over the flood disaster that occurred a few days ago. Authorities said that the response has been very impressive. Your colleagues – the CMD committee – also praised your leadership and efforts.
Can you describe the impact of the flood on your hospital?
Ahidjo: Well, it's a disaster. The whole hospital was flooded. So practically everything we had on the ground floor was affected, and we had to move patients upstairs. The staff also find it difficult to go to work because at that time there was a pedestrian crossing inside the city. It was difficult to move around during that period.
All the medicines we had were gone. Consumables and basic examination tools were affected. All of our equipment was also affected.
The loss is huge but we are making a great effort. As you can see, the inside of the hospital is clean, we are fumigating and assessing the level of damage (the extent of damage to the equipment). Once we do that, we will restore the electricity and once it is restored, we will be able to start activities.
PT: Did you record any casualties when the event occurred and afterwards?
Ahidjo: No, not in the hospital.
PT: How did the hospital management respond to the disaster?
Ahidjo: (We) collectively, the entire staff, moved the patients to the upper floor, especially the orthopedic patients, the delivery rooms and the malnourished children from the Al-Iman center, we were able to rescue them all.
They were moved to the upper floor while patients in stable condition were discharged. We have suspended their admission, but they will be able to return when the hospital is more stable.
PT: Is there a time when you think the hospital will be operational again?
Ahidjo: The range of services is very wide. As you know, Maiduguri Teaching Hospital is the largest hospital in Nigeria, so the range of services is wide.
However, starting on Monday we will begin to provide basic services for opening the Accident and Emergency Unit.
We have fumigated the units, the trauma centre and the emergency areas. We will open on Monday. The clinics will also start functioning on Monday. But it will be difficult to say when some laboratories will resume, some of the diagnostics in radiology, the oncology centre and the molecular laboratory, the polio laboratory… All this depends on how quickly we are able to rectify the problems that are identified.
PT: Considering the level of damage to the facility, what kind of assistance do you think the hospital needs at this time to be able to start operations quickly?
Ahidjo: We are calling on the Government and well-meaning Nigerians to help the facilities with material. I believe that the material victims may be the most numerous.
We have many high-tech equipments like 120 Slice CT, Linear Accelerator for Cancer Center, two of them, expensive state-of-the-art equipments like two Elekta Linear Accelerators, two Brachytherapy Machines and one Canon Large Bore CT Simulator.
We also have brachytherapy, we have another CT simulator, PCR machines for molecular lab. A lot of equipment, from polio lab to molecular lab to diagnostic lab, even laundry equipment, tailoring equipment, there are so many that one will be surprised at the kind of services we have in the hospital.
Electricity, large generator sets, water treatment plants, and all of those things. It's a very wide and extensive range. So I think any kind of help is needed; people should bring in the items that we need: the EMR, all of the computers that we have the electronic record keeping system on, the servers and all of those things, they're all affected to some degree.
So if there is someone who is willing to help, we prefer that these items are returned to us. The person can come and donate computers for repair, that is the best form of help we can get. Any type of equipment.
PT: Thank you very much for your time, sir.