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Ethiopia: Health Crises Heighten Humanitarian Despair - WHO
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The Daily Monitor (Addis Ababa)
13 July 2008
Posted to the web 14 July 2008
Addis Ababa
Worsening malnutrition and the threat of disease outbreaks are compounding Ethiopia's humanitarian crisis, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.
WHO, in a statement, said it was working with the Government of Ethiopia and health partners to support the 4.6 million people needing urgent emergency food relief nationwide.
"The number of people needing food assistance is increasing markedly in Ethiopia, and health risks are being compounded by the global food security crisis, the impact of drought on agricultural production and the country's weak health system," the world health body said in its statement issued in Geneva and Addis Ababa.
WHO said annual rains to come during the coming months are expected to again cause large-scale flooding, increasing loss of crops and risk of disease.
"In humanitarian terms, the situation is unacceptable," Assistant Director-General for WHO's Health Action in Crises Cluster, Dr Eric Laroche, said in the statement.
"The health of millions of Ethiopians is worsening by the day, and the international community must act to support the country's government to ease this terrible suffering." In three regions alone (Somali, SNNP and Eastern Oromiya), the number of government-run feeding centres has risen from 200 three months ago to 605 today.
Some 75 000 children aged under 5 need therapeutic and supplementary nutrition support, the statement said, adding WHO, UNICEF and nongovernmental organization partners were supporting the centres.
Additional major gaps affecting people's health and livelihoods are lack of access to safe drinking water, shortages of drugs and medical supplies and insufficient human resources.
WHO said the areas affected by shortages are also at significant risk of disease outbreaks: diarrhoeal diseases, measles and meningitis.
Cases of acute watery diarrhoeal have been reported in 16 districts, and outbreaks of cerebrospinal meningitis in 37 districts, WHO added.
It said more than 7000 cases of measles have been registered in 38 districts.
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WHO works with Federal and regional government partners, UN agencies and nongovernmental organizations to provide better health and nutrition services throughout Ethiopia using emergency mobile teams; deploy drugs, medical and nutrition supplies and staff for emergency action in affected areas, among others.
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