At least 40,000 people have fled their homes in Chad in the last two weeks following attacks by Boko Haram insurgents, according to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
The insurgency has already stoked an escalating humanitarian crisis in the region around Lake Chad.
MSF said many of the displaced people have gathered in makeshift camps where its staff were treating patients with diarrhoea, malaria and respiratory infections, as well as malnourished children.
“Some pregnant women have walked several kilometers in searing heat to seek medical attention,” said Federica Alberti, MSF’s head of mission in Chad. “People are living without proper shelter, and do not have access to food or clean drinking water.”
The Lake Chad region has become increasingly unstable since 2013, with Boko Haram violence triggering a growing crisis. At least 1,300 people have died in fighting so far this year in the region, MSF said.
In neighbouring Niger, refugees and displaced people face food shortages and an increase in waterborne diseases as the conflict compounds a fragile humanitarian situation, MSF said.
The situation could deteriorate further during the “hunger gap” between harvests, when community food stocks are drastically reduced, MSF said.
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