Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Despite insecurity in Central/Southern Somalia, the UN is continuing to respond to the needs of people affected by an outbreak of acute watery diarrhoea, which is a consequence of recent flooding in the area.
Though the flood water is receding, stagnant and contaminated water sources have provided a breeding ground for disease - leading to an upsurge in the incidence of diarrhoea and malaria.
UNICEF Representative for Somalia, Christian Balslev-Olesen, said: “Whatever the situation in Central/Southern Somalia, UNICEF and WHO have always retained a presence on the ground to deliver
To help manage diarrhoea cases at InterSoS Hospital Jowhar, Central Somalia, UNICEF and WHO have supplied medical equipment and two water tanks, one full diarrhoeal disease kit (for 100 severe and 400 moderate patients) and intravenous infusions. Medical supplies have also been provided to the Somali Red Crescent Society (SRCS) and the International Medical Corps (IMC) for use in the Hiran region.
Meanwhile, UNICEF has supported SRCS and MSF-Spain to carry out water testing and water purification, as well as conduct hygiene and sanitation awareness and training. It is also supporting water chlorination by the Hiran Water Supply and the cleaning of water tanks by the Farjano Water Company which manages Jowhar’s water supply system.
UNICEF, last week, airlifted into Central Southern Somalia over five thousand bars of soap, 50 thousand sachets of oral rehydration salts and 200 intravenous rehydration kits. These supplies also included enough water purification tablets to provide 47,000 households with ten litres water of clean water daily for a month.
To date, 444 people have been admitted to the InterSoS hospital in Jowhar for the treatment of acute watery diarrhea. The WHO surveillance reports indicate that 235 of these were children under five. Of the 42 reported deaths, 16 were in Belet Weyne, five in Buulo Burte, 14 in Jalalaqsi and seven in Jowhar regional hospital. A joint team of WHO and UNICEF professionals are assisting and coordinating the response in Hiran and Middle Shabelle regions.
Source: UNICEF, Feb 13, 2007