Ijaw people across Nigeria have lamented over the health crisis in their communities, due to preventable causes linked to poor environmental conditions, which have resulted in multiple deaths.

They said pollution and contaminated water from the rivers, which residents are forced to use for drinking, were major causes of death.

The people, under the aegis of Ijaw Progressive Union of Aborigines (IPUA), also decried neglect and pollution in Ijaw communities due to oil and gas exploration, lamenting that despite being a resource-rich region, its people are allowed to suffer several environmental challenges.

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Speaking with newsmen on Wednesday, the Executive Coordinator IPUA, Mr. Amaye Asiaye Amakor, urged authorities to address environmental degradation, lack of basic amenities, and inadequate health services in Ijaw communities to forestall continued suffering of the people.

He lamented what he described as decades of federal government neglect despite the region’s $15 billion annual resource contribution, while resources extracted from the land fuel development in other parts of Nigeria.

According to him, the health crisis in Ijaw communities is particularly alarming, with multiple deaths occurring monthly in his hometown alone due to preventable causes linked to poor environmental conditions, including pollution and contaminated water from rivers, which residents are forced to use for drinking.

He said: “There has been no significant impact or attention given to our communities even though the entire country benefits from the resources that come from our land.

“The absence of essential infrastructure such as clean drinking water, electricity, and functional hospitals is the challenge our people continue to live with.”