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Speaking to Khaleej Times, a senior UN relief official said the situation in Somalia’s Lower Shabelle, Middle and Lower Juba, Bay, Bakool, Benadir, Gedo and Hiraan was dire and residents of those areas could succumb to disease and death.Food deprived Lower Shabelle and Bakool were officially declared as famine-hit by the UN last week.
Jean-Luc Tonglet, Deputy Head of the Regional Office for the Middle East North Africa and Central Asia (ROMENESCA) under the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said the deteriorating conditions in southern Somalia, compounded by lack of access to relief, were ‘‘particularly worrying’’.
‘‘In order to provide life-saving help to people, we need to be able to reach them, in all areas, and without delay. We need to be able to bring in critical supplies and services as quickly and directly as possible, through all available channels and routes,’’ said the official
According to estimates, tens of thousands have died in the past three months. The UN official said more than six deaths per 10,000 per day were reported from some areas, largely due to causes related to malnutrition. Last week, the Red Cross managed to supply 400 tonnes of food to the starved south.
He said the humanitarian community was talking with all actors to allow access to areas where people in need reside. ‘‘It is imperative that we continue to find innovative ways to engage with these groups.’’
The Horn of Africa was included in the consolidated Appeal for 2011, and adequate stocks were organised to support a speedier response to the crisis, considered the worst in 60 years. A longer term plan of action was also launched, to address some of the underlying structural needs and build resilience, the UN official said, when asked if the world woke up late to the crisis.
Some 11.6 million people need life-saving help throughout the region, which includes Somalia, Ethiopia , Kenya and Djibouti.
Tonglet said lack of water, low immunisation coverage and poor sanitation resulting from displacements had increased the risk of communicable diseases such as cholera, typhoid fever, diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections and measles.
Displaced residents are moving in thousands to Mogadishu and confirmed measles cases had been reported in the capital. The UN said 85 per cent of 48 samples collected for measles had tested positive. The WHO’s Somalia Emergency Humanitarian Action Programme needs more funds to respond to the increased emergency health needs of the people in Mogadishu, Dadaab and Dolow.
Health supplies are also falling short and some materials are being flown to Mogadishu. These consist of health kits and essential medicines to treat common childhood illnesses like respiratory tract infections, diarrhoea, minor injuries and worm infestation, which will be distributed to 10 health facilities to reach up to 100,000 people over three months.
But the the health cluster is currently funded at only 29 per cent. Donors have committed more than $1 billion to tide over the crisis. ‘‘We also still need almost US$1 billion to enable us to intervene and scale up now, if we are to save lives and prevent the situation from deteriorating in other areas of the Horn of Africa,’’ said Tonglet.
On Monday, the World Bank pledged more than $500 million for relief efforts in the region.
·allan@khaleejtimes.com
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