UNITED NATIONS, June 23 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned Friday that more than 5.6 million children are at increased risk of contracting waterborne diseases, such as cholera and diarrheal infections, as the rainy season begins in conflict-affected areas of countries around Lake Chad.
The threat of disease outbreaks in Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria coincides with growing regional insecurity and increased population movements particularly in Nigeria's northeast, while flooding and muddy roads are expected "to severely limit humanitarian access to remote areas for several weeks," said Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF's Director for Emergency Programs.
Across the Lake Chad region, UNICEF and its partners are working in communities at higher risk of cholera outbreaks to teach families about the effects of the disease and practical steps to help avoid infection, he said.
In Niger, Cameroon and Chad, essential drugs and bars of soap have been prepositioned in warehouses close to IDP (internally displaced persons) camps in case of a cholera outbreak, said Fontaine.
The water, sanitation and hygiene response in the Lake Chad Basin has received less than 20 percent of the 80 million U.S. dollars required to meet urgent needs in 2017.
Despite the lack of funding, this year UNICEF aims to provide 2.7 million people with a basic supply of water needed to survive, Fontaine added.
