Intervention Summary:
In Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State Nigeria, an outbreak of cholera escalated from 260 cases in September to 4,536 cases (including 70 deaths) by the end of October. Cholera is endemic in the region – only a few months previously, the Start Fund responded to an outbreak across the border from Borno State in Cameroon.
With outbreaks almost every year in Nigeria, there were 33,000 confirmed cases and over 2,600 deaths from presumptive or confirmed cholera between 2010 and 2013. This year, the crisis coincided with an increased number of IDPs in Maiduguri. With 350,000 IDPs in multiple camps, this created the perfect scenario for a more catastrophic crisis to develop. Anticipating this, the Start Fund was activated to intervene before the outbreak could escalate to the scale seen in previous years.
One agency responded through a partnership with the Nigerian Red Cross, implementing prevention WaSH activities in 6 camps in Maiduguri (NYSC, Government College, Yerwa, Government Girls College, Shehu Sanda Kyan, ATC). The project distributed hygiene kits, water storage containers and communal solid waste bins and disseminated Information Education Communication (IEC) materials with key messages about cholera. Staff reported an increase in awareness around hygiene practices, such as the use of solid waste bins provided and using jerry cans when collecting water.
The project faced severe delays past the 7 day target due to security incidents that hindered movement of goods and staff in the area. It finished in 45 days, reaching 10% of the IDPs in Maiduguri (36,205 people). Only 57% of funds were spent on inputs, and a large underspend of 27% was the result of over-budgeting WaSH supplies, which were procured locally. The Start Fund response is being continued with funding from ECHO from Jan to Apr, 2015. In addition, IDPs received psychosocial support using internal funding from Save the Children and USAID funding.
This project took part in a pilot, along with the Somalia response, to test online reporting