Tukur Buratai, chief of army staff, said this on Friday when he received officials of the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) better known as Doctors Without Borders, at the army headquarters in Abuja.

Buratai said the security of international and local aid workers was a top priority of the Nigerian government.

Represented by Lamidi Adeosun, chief of army policy and plans, Buratai asked them to avoid actions that would expose them to danger.

He said the aid workers should avoid conflict areas because the Boko Haram insurgents “carry out attacks indiscriminately”.

“Despite your neutrality and impartiality at times, situations make it difficult for you to have the reach you would like to have – neutrally without any security man or apparatus seen around you, ” he said.

“To the terrorists, everything is a target; they don’t know what it is to even attack you as a group that is concerned and responsible for their well-being, because they are not trained in that manner; they are only trained to kill.”

He, however, said the military would continue to ensure adequate security for members of the organisation to help them alleviate the plight of persons affected by the insurgency.

“We must continue to operate with understandings so that while you are providing succour for the people, you also don’t come into harm’s way, ” he said.

Kristos Christi, MSF president, said the group visited to solicit the army’s support to provide medical assistance to thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the north-east.

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In December, the insurgents had attacked the town, burning a UNICEF clinic— the only healthcare centre in the town.

Médecins Sans Frontières also known as Doctors Without Borders (MSF), an international humanitarian medical organisation, on Wednesday said many are in a state of shock following the attack.

The organisation said it is providing food, water and emergency medical care to people arriving by foot in the Cameroonian border town of Bodo, roughly four miles from Rann.

“Our team in Bodo estimates that some 8,000 people arrived yesterday, and we expect several thousand more may come today,” Hugues Robert, MSF programme manager for Nigeria, said in a statement.

“We are preparing to assist 15,000 people with food, water and medical care over the coming days. Many were in a state of shock and were clearly distressed by what they had witnessed. Now they have lost all that they have and need absolutely everything.”

Children and pregnant women have reportedly spent nights outdoors as there are no shelters.

Many parts of the town of Rann were reportedly razed during the attack, including market and food stores. A warehouse, office and pharmacy belonging to MSF were also looted and burnt.

According to Isa Sadiz Bwala, an MSF nurse who visited Rann to assess medical needs, most of the residents have fled to Bodo, while some remained.

“What struck me when we arrived was the silence. Usually Rann bustles with life, but yesterday it was eerie and quiet, like a graveyard,” Bwala said.

“Usually kids run around and play, but yesterday the only ones I saw were standing around quietly, looking anxious. The town has been devastated and I was devastated to see it. Many parts of the town have been burnt. There was still smoke drifting in the sky and the fires were still burning in places.

“I met a woman who was just back from the burial of her elderly mother, who had died inside her burning home. She burnt to death inside because she couldn’t escape the fire.

“MSF’s base, office and pharmacy have been burnt to the ground. All that’s left are piles of ashes. When I arrived, the tent where we store our equipment was still on fire. The buildings of other humanitarian organizations have also been looted and burnt. Luckily, all of our staff from Rann are safe. Several have fled to Cameroon, along with the majority of the population of Rann.

“We evacuated one man with a gunshot wound. I was told that other people had been injured too, but it seems they have left for Cameroon. I saw a long line of people leaving for Cameroon—women, children and men, of all ages. Some had donkeys but many were just carrying their belongings. The ones I spoke to said they were leaving because they were too afraid to stay. There is not much left for them to stay for anyway: their homes are gone, and I don’t know what they would live on. The market was burnt and looted— food stores also.”

Calling on all warring parties to respect safety of civilians, Robert said the people of Borno suffer endless violence and it is devastating they continue to pay price for the conflict.

In March, the insurgents killed one of the health workers abducted in the town.

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“Twenty-one cases of fever with haemorrhagic indications and 17 deaths” have been recorded in Equateur province, it said, citing a notification to the ministry as of May 3.

It is the DRC’s ninth known outbreak of Ebola since 1976, when the deady viral disease was first identified in then-Zaire by a Belgian-led team.

In Geneva, the World Health Organization (WHO) said lab tests in the DRC confirmed the presence of Ebola virus in two out of five samples collected from patients.

“WHO is working closely with the government of the DRC to rapidly scale up its operations and mobilize health partners, using the model of a successful response to a similar… outbreak in 2017,” it said in a statement.

It said it had released $1 million (840,000 euros) from an emergency contingency fund, set up a coordination group and deployed more than 50 experts to work with the DRC government and health agencies.

“The action plan prepared by the health ministry has been approved,” an official statement released after a cabinet meeting said.

“Since the notification of the cases on May 3, no deaths have been reported,” it said, without specifying when the first case came to light.

The outbreak occurred in Bikoro, on the shores of Lake Tumba.

All the cases were reported from a clinic at Ilkoko Iponge, located about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from Bikoro, where treatment capacities are limited, the WHO said.

A team of experts from the WHO, Doctors without Borders (DRC) and Equateur province travelled to Bikoro on Tuesday to beef up coordination and carry out investigations, it said.

Ebola is one of the world’s most notorious diseases, being both highly infectious and extremely lethal.

It is caused by a virus that has a natural reservoir in the bat, which does not itself fall ill, but can pass the microbe on to humans who hunt it for “bushmeat”.

The virus is handed on by contact with bodily fluids — touching a sick or dead person is a well-known source of infection.

Following an incubation period of between two and 21 days, Ebola develops into a high fever, weakness, intense muscle and joint pain, headaches and a sore throat.

That is often followed by vomiting and diarrhoea, skin eruptions, kidney and liver failure, and internal and external bleeding.

The worst-ever Ebola outbreak started in December 2013 in southern Guinea before spreading to two neighbouring west African countries, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

That outbreak killed more than 11,300 people out of nearly 29,000 registered cases, according to WHO estimates, although the real figure is thought to be significantly higher.

More than 99 percent of victims were in the three West African countries, although cases occurred in other parts of the world, often stirring panic.

There is no current vaccine to prevent Ebola or licensed treatment for it, although a range of experimental drugs are in development. Early care with rehydration may boost the chance of survival.

Given the lack of a pharmaceutical weapon against Ebola, health experts have responded with time-honoured measures of control, prevention and containment.

They use rigorous protocols to protect medical personnel with disposable full-body suits, masks, goggles and gloves and disinfecting sprays.

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The US government promised that nobody who is infected with HIV/AIDS will left behind, adding that already, a $90 million has been invested in a survey to determine the true number of those infected with the virus in Nigeria

The Global HIV/AIDS Coordinator of PEPFAR, Ambassador Deborah Birx, said these during the ongoing high level dialogue with pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies.

The meeting was convened by the new Vatican Dicastery of Integral Human Development at the Papal Academy of Sciences, the Vatican in Rome, Italy.

A statement issued by the Internat­ional Director of Catholic Caritas Foundation of Nigeria and Executi­ve Secretary, Justice Development and Peace Commission, two agencies of the Catholic Church, Rev. Fr. Evaristus Bassey, said she was reacting to concerns about the disparity of treatment given to people in areas with supposed lower disease burden in Nigeria.

Whereas those in the scale up areas were to be put on treatment as soon as they were tested, those in sustain support areas do not have the same privilege.

Birx said, “The fact that $90 million US investment in a survey to determine the true number of those infected with the virus in Nigeria will help resolve the issue. We have realized that the numbers in Nigeria may be overestimated. We marked some areas scale up to concentrate on where the disease burden was and to have something to show after many years.

“But then, the numbers have not added up. So it looks like the data is overestimated. We are putting in $90 million US dollars for a huge survey. As soon as we determine the true picture, we will move the money everywhere it is needed.

“We have allocated $400 million US Dollars to Nigeria and we are not moving a single dollar out. When the real numbers are out, everyone who needs treatment will get it.”

The Heads of several pharmaceutical companies as well as diagnostic companies, including regulators like the US government Office of Food and Drug Administration, were in attendance.

Also, Non-Governmental Organisations like Caritas Internationalis, Medicines Sans Frontiers popularly called Doctors Without Borders were also invited at the meeting where the Catholic ArchBishop of Abuja Diocese, John Cardinal Onaiyekan also addressed the meeting.

Bassey said, “The meeting was aimed at extracting commitment to ensure availability and access to child friendly HIV/AIDS drugs in view of the fact that there is reportedly up to a 70 per cent gap in terms of access. There was no representative from National Agency for the Control of AIDS, although NACA was invited. The new dicastery is headed by Cardinal Turkson of Ghana.”

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“The money has been returned, but people will be asked to donate again via another crowd funding platform.

“PayPal has been pressured into doing this by left-wing collectives and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) which gave them fake news about us.

“It is not true that we want to stop rescues at sea, we want to stop NGO rescue boats when they leave port,” Lorenzo Fiato, President of the Italian chapter of Identitarian Generation said.

Such obstruction tactics were first deployed in May outside the Sicilian port of Catania against a rescue ship run by the Doctors Without Borders and SOS Mediterranee NGOs.

The Italian coast guard had to intervene.

Fiato, 23, said that Defend Europe would soon stage more actions, in cooperation with the Libyan coast guard.

Amid questions about the lawfulness of their conduct, he said the group was prepared to face legal consequences.

NGOs have been accused by an Italian prosecutor and right-wing politicians of arranging migrant pick-ups with human traffickers.

The accusations, rejected by the NGOs, have never been proven. Fiato said his group was “patriotic,” rather than right-wing.

“We want to call into question mass migration and multiculturalism, we don’t care about anything else, and people of all political orientations are welcome to join us,” he said.

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The Director of Primary Health Care in the LGA, Nasiru Mani, confirmed this to the News Agency of Nigeria in Mai’adua today (Thursday).

Mani said the meningitis outbreak was discovered in the last two days following a report from the community.

He said that 16 cases were recorded, out of which eight people had died.

According to him, the remaining patients have been admitted at the Mai’adua and Daura general hospitals for proper medical attention.

“We had since deployed a surveillance team to the area to address the situation,’’ said the director.

He said the combined efforts of state and local government medical teams have succeeded in addressing the problem.

“I call on our people to avail themselves of the ongoing vaccination against such diseases to curb further spread of the infection.

“We have designated centres at our rural clinics where people are being immunised or vaccinated against such diseases,” he said.

Mani commended the role of Medicines San Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders) for their efforts in addressing the outbreak.

He called on the people of the area to adhere to the safety measures of sleeping inside ventilated rooms, houses and environs.

Besides, the director advised residents to report suspicious cases and visit nearby health centres over any symptom.

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A statement by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistance to the president on media and publicity, said this is as incorrect as it is unhelpful.

“These claims in both articles are attributed to an unnamed “source” in the United States, and “Western officials”. Yet when the first article was published it drew the condemnation of the US Embassy in Abuja as having drawn conclusions directly opposite to the position of the US government.

“To state the facts: the UK government does not give development aid to the Nigerian administration for use in military operations against Boko Haram. Where British military support – such as intelligence – is provided, it is precisely and only, given for operations directly against Boko Haram.

“Similarly, the Nigerian Government is in no position to divert aid monies used for emergency relief for refugees or IDP camps for any other purpose, as these are dispensed directly by DFID, USAID, the United Nations, the International Red Cross, Doctors without Borders and many other organizations – with which we enjoy excellent relations.”

The statement asserts that the “humanitarian situation in these camps is real. The Administration remains deeply concerned about the medical, health and nutrition challenges and we are doing everything with the limited resources we have at our disposal to improve the situation. However, the blame for the plight of refugees lies with Boko Haram. They are its cause, not the Nigerian Government.

“In the light of ongoing efforts, we regret the recent attack on the UN humanitarian convoy in the Northeastern region and are encouraged by the world body’s determination to continue rendering assistance to the displaced victims.

“That the attack was repelled by Nigerian troops escorting the convoy shows precisely how the Government and humanitarian agencies are working together.

“As for claims that the Administration is targeting Christians and the opposition, these are without foundation.

“Since assuming office, President Buhari has treated all Nigerians without bias for ethnicity or religion – as the composition of his cabinet and the policies and programmes of his Administration demonstrate.

The statement further asserts that to suggest that the government is deepening Muslim-Christian division is not only untrue, but plays into the hands of Boko Haram who wish to divide Nigerians along religious lines.

“Fighting this group is key priority of President Buhari’s Administration. Indeed the international community has widely acknowledged his determination to defeat terrorism in Nigeria and the entire Lake Chad Basin.

“There is nothing to gain by attempting to mould public opinion against these facts. Therefore we invite The Telegraph to visit Nigeria: to witness first hand not only the challenges we face, but the Administration’s determination to confront them,” the statement stressed.

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Saraki who stated this when the representatives of Doctors Without Borders led by Dr. Simba Tirima paid him a courtesy call, said it was unfortunate that the incident in Niger State occurred at a time the nation is yet to recover from the ravages of a similar incident in Bagega, Zamfara State where over 400 children were affected in 2013.

He lamented that 28 children had already died as a result of the lead poisoning in Rafin Local Government of Niger State and called on the Ministry of Solid Minerals to be proactive in tackling the incidence so as to safeguard the health of the people living in the area especially, children.

He said the Senate would work with the various stakeholders to ensure that all funds made available are utilized for proper remediation of the affected communities and the treatment of children already affected by lead poisoning.

Saraki said: “I want to assure you that this National Assembly will make this issue a matter of great urgency to ensure that all that was made available for the remediation that needs to be done either through the funds of the ecological agency or through the 2016 budget, is done not only to address the case in Niger State but also we must be proactive and there must be a level of funding available for this.

“This cannot happen in any developed society today. We need to begin to also identify areas in this country where gold mining is resulting to lead poisoning. Like he (Tirima) said, we cannot stop the miners because as a result of poverty, this is their only source of income to survive.

“It is our duty to improve and make mining safer. I think it is important also that the Ministry of Solid Minerals takes quick and proactive actions in addressing the issue of lead poisoning.

“The state government has a role to play as well. We must get the government of Niger State and Rafin Local Government involved. They should play their own role in educating the stakeholders there to understand why they must stop their mining activities.

“Really, we must ensure that this does not repeat itself in this country. It is very unfair to the citizens, most especially the children that are affected. We will take it up from here to ensure that prompt action is taken, so we can quickly address the issue and treat those that were affected,” he said.

Earlier, the representative of the Doctors Without Borders, Dr. Simba Tirima, commended the Senate President for his efforts towards curtailing the lead poisoning incidence in Bagega, Zamfara State in 2013 when he was the Chairman, Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology in the 7th Senate.

Tirima said: “Without His Excellency really, the funds that were allocated for that project would not have been released. But he personally went to Bagega to visit the people that were affected. I am very happy to report that Bagega is doing very well.

“The kids who are on treatment are being discharged because there has been a lot of improvement and the treatment is going on very well through Doctors Without Borders.

“We want to thank you for your support in dealing with such a serious issue of lead poisoning which primarily attacks the very thing that makes us human and that is its impact on our brains especially poor children who are the future of this country. We thank you for your continued support,” he said.

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The warning came a day after the World Health Organization said the scale of the epidemic had been vastly underestimated and that “extraordinary measures” were needed to contain the killer disease.

The UN health agency said the death toll from the worst outbreak of Ebola in four decades had now climbed to 1,145 in the four afflicted West African countries — Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

“It is deteriorating faster, and moving faster, than we can respond to,” Joanne Liu, the chief of Doctors without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, told reporters in Geneva.

She added that it could take six months to get the upper hand.

“It is like wartime,” she said a day after returning from the region. “I don’t think we should focus on numbers. To really get a reality check, we’re not talking in terms of weeks, but months” to control the epidemic.”

Elhadj As Sy, the new head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, painted a similarly bleak picture after he too returned from west Africa.

“In Sierra Leone, we’ve already lost some of the best doctors, including one of the best virologists of the country — and not only of the country, but of the region. Nurses have been infected and also died,” he said.

As Sy added that he agreed with MSF’s six-month timeline for bringing the outbreak under control.

The WHO said Thursday it was coordinating “a massive scaling up of the international response” to the epidemic.

“Staff at the outbreak sites see evidence that the numbers of reported cases and deaths vastly underestimate the magnitude of the outbreak,” it said.

The epidemic erupted in the forested zone straddling the borders of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia earlier this year, and later spread to Nigeria.

Liu said while Guinea was the initial epicentre of the disease, the pace there has slowed, with fears now focused on the other countries.

“If we don’t stabilise Liberia, we’ll never stabilise the region,” Liu said.

No cure or vaccine is currently available for Ebola, with the WHO authorising the use of largely untested treatments in efforts to combat the disease.

Hard-hit nations are awaiting consignments of up to 1,000 doses of the barely tested drug ZMapp from the United States, which has raised hopes of saving hundreds.

Canada says between 800 and 1,000 doses of a vaccine called VSV-EBOV, which has shown promise in animal research but never been tested on humans, would also be distributed through the WHO.

“In the short term, they’re not going to help that much, because we don’t have many drugs available. We need to a get a reality check on how this could impact the curve of the epidemic,” she said.

The last days of an Ebola victim can be grim, characterised by agonising muscular pain, vomiting, diarrhoea and catastrophic haemorrhaging described as “bleeding out” as vital organs break down.

The cost of tackling the virus is also threatening to take a severe toll on the already impoverished West African nations hit by the epidemic.

In Nigeria, in particular, a more serious outbreak could severely disrupt its oil and gas industry if international companies are forced to evacuate staff and shut operations, rating agency Moody’s has warned.

Sierra Leone’s chief medical officer Brima Kargbo this week spoke of the risks facing health workers fighting the epidemic, which has killed 32 nurses since May as well as an eminent doctor, a tenth of the country’s fatalities.

“We still have to break the chain of transmission to separate the infected from the uninfected,” Kargbo said.

Nigerian sex workers also reported suspicion from customers, with business down drastically. One woman in Lagos who gave her name as Bright told AFP that Ebola was “worse than HIV/AIDS. You can prevent HIV by using condoms but you can’t do the same with Ebola.”

Across the region, draconian travel restrictions have been imposed and a number of airlines have cancelled flights in and out of West Africa.

Guinea, where at least 380 people have died, became the latest country to declare a health emergency, ordering strict controls at border points and a ban on moving bodies from one town to another.

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