“I thought I was going to lose my baby.” A mother’s account of Nigeria’s devastating floods

 Aisha is examined at a health facility in Maiduguri’s Sulumari area, Nigeria
Aisha is examined at a health facility in Maiduguri’s Sulumari area. Photo: OCHA/Chima Onwe

“I was very scared and thought I was going to lose my baby,” Aisha, 24, recalled. She was one of thousands of people displaced after the Alau Dam collapsed following torrential rains in north-east Nigeria. The massive floods damaged homes, crops and infrastructure, displacing nearly 400,000 people in the Maiduguri Metropolitan Council, Jere and Konduga Local Government Areas.

Pregnant and separated from her family, including her husband and two-year-old son, Aisha found refuge at Teachers Village, a temporary shelter set up for flood victims in Maiduguri.

“I was worried about my family, whom I hadn’t seen or heard from since the floods struck,” she said.

#Surviving a medical emergency 

Five days into her displacement, Aisha experienced severe abdominal pain due to trauma and hunger, triggering fears of pre-term labour. She was rushed to the Integrated Sexual and Reproductive Health facility, managed by the Royal Heritage and Health Foundation (RHHF) and supported by OCHA’s Nigeria Humanitarian Fund. She received urgent medical care to stabilize her condition and protect her unborn baby.

“When Aisha arrived, she was in severe distress,” explained Ifeoluwa Oyewoga, a midwife at the RHHF facility. “She was experiencing epigastric pain and extreme hunger, later diagnosed as false labour. Our team closely monitored her and the baby’s condition until we were sure they were both safe. We are happy that she is now stable.” 

“The doctors saved us,” Aisha said. 

Upon her discharge, she received a dignity kit containing essentials such as sanitary items, a carry-all bag, a torchlight and a hijab. Soon after, Aisha was reunited with her family. But she also received psychosocial counselling to help overcome the trauma of sudden displacement.

Women displaced by extreme weather events, such as floods, face heightened risks of gender-based violence. To address this, RHHF also offers services including clinical management of rape, psychosocial support and safe spaces for flood-affected people.

Aisha receives counselling during her visit to the RHHF facility, which is supported by the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund.
Aisha receives counselling during her visit to the RHHF facility, which is supported by the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund. Photo: OCHA/Chima Onwe

Adewunmi Soyege, the RHHF Programme Manager, explained: “Funding from the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund has allowed us to expand our services so that vulnerable women and girls can receive comprehensive medical attention that addresses their physical and psychological health, particularly during these hard times.”

The hard times Adewunmi refers to relate to the dire humanitarian situation in Borno State – the epicentre of a 15-year conflict involving various non-State armed groups. The recent flooding began at the height of the lean season, with millions of people already grappling with a severe food and nutrition crisis.

In response, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohamed Malick Fall, announced a US$6 million allocation from the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund to bolster relief efforts. Shortly after, the Acting Emergency Relief Coordinator, Joyce Msuya, allocated $5 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to assist 280,000 people in Bauchi, Borno and Sokoto states.   

With this funding, humanitarian partners in Borno State can scale up their emergency response efforts by providing food, shelter, clean water, sanitation and health-care services to prevent cholera and other waterborne diseases.