Over 5,000 displaced people in dire conditions in Borno as MSF scales up response

​International medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has raised the alarm over more than 5,000 people who fled their homes and are now living in extremely precarious conditions in Pulka, Gwoza local government area of Borno State.

​MSF field communication officer Abdulkareem Yakubu said in a statement issued to journalists in Maiduguri on Thursday that the organisation launched an emergency response in the area following a new wave of displacement triggered by armed violence. The intervention has provided more than 900 families with non‑food items, including cooking utensils, sleeping mats, mosquito nets, jerrycans and buckets.

​MSF teams have also distributed 884 dignity kits, including menstrual hygiene products, soap and oral hygiene items, to people who arrived in highly vulnerable conditions. The displaced population in Pulka is currently living approximately 15km away from their original homes within Gwoza.

​Many of those displaced—including women, children and older people—arrived with little to no belongings. With no adequate shelter available, families are sleeping in open spaces and along the streets. Safiya Mohammed Aga, a displaced person from Ngoshe, said her home was bombed and her family fled to Pulka with almost nothing.

​Critical shortages in water and sanitation

​Access to necessities such as food, safe water, sanitation and hygiene services remains critically insufficient. As a result, the risk of disease outbreaks is increasing, particularly among children and other vulnerable groups.

​MSF emergency field coordinator Abdoulaye Mahmoudoune said people urgently need food and improved access to water and sanitation services. He noted that while MSF is responding, it cannot meet the overwhelming needs alone and called for other humanitarian organisations to step in.

​Mahmoudoune said funding gaps and a broader reduction in humanitarian assistance across Borno State are putting critical healthcare and life‑saving services at serious risk. MSF is calling on humanitarian organisations to urgently scale up assistance in Pulka, particularly regarding food aid and water interventions.

​The organisation also urged donors to increase sustained funding for healthcare in northeast Nigeria, as ongoing shortfalls continue to undermine access to services. BusinessDay previously reported that violent attacks in Ngoshe on 3 March 2026 resulted in a significant number of deaths and large-scale abductions of civilians who have yet to be rescued.