PO Box 61950 Nairobi

PO Box 61950 Nairobi omalia id oordination ody Tel: 254-2- 441225 S A C B Fax: 254-2- 442438 Health & Nutrition Sectoral Committee E-mail: [email protected] Cholera Task Force

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PRESS RELEASE

AID AGENCIES WORKING TO CURB ANNUAL CHOLERA OUTBREAK IN SOMALIA

13 December 2000 – Members of the Somali Aid Coordination Body (SACB) – which includes UN agencies, NGOs, and donors – are working with local health authorities to prevent widespread illness and death in Somalia related to the upcoming annual cholera season.

In their fight to control cholera outbreaks, the SACB members are currently:

. Implementing regional cholera preparedness and control plans; . Increasing health surveillance, including targeted and random laboratory testing of possible cholera cases in regularly affected areas; . Pre-positioning medical stocks; . Providing refresher training to local and international medical staff; . Continuing sanitation control activities, particularly chlorination of public wells.

Long-term control measures include:

. Rehabilitation of safe water sources (such as boreholes and wells); . Construction of urban water systems where possible; . Continuing public information campaigns to improve health and hygiene.

Cholera, which is endemic in southern and central Somalia, normally surges from December through May in any given year. Outbreaks tend to recede with the arrival of Somalia’s annual long rainy season. Already, cholera outbreaks have been confirmed in Boroma of Awdal Region (300 cases and 14 deaths) and Adale of Middle Shabelle Region (65 cases and 5 deaths). In both instances, SACB partners responded with technical training and medical materials to support local cholera control and treatment activities, reducing transmission of the disease.

On average, over 70 percent of all cholera cases each year are reported from the capital Mogadishu. In Mogadishu, Action Contre la Faim (ACF), Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and the Somali Red Crescent Society (SRCS) with support from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) are leading the regional cholera task force. While chlorination activities are ongoing in Mogadishu, these agencies will soon establish cholera treatment centers and dispensing facilities for Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) in the north and south of

______SACB Executive Committee the city. Further, both MSF and ACF are willing to provide on-the-job training in cholera treatment to aid agencies with less experience. Already, ACF and MSF are undertaking surveillance across the city. Although the reported number of diarrhoeal cases is on the rise, it is still too early to declare a cholera outbreak in the capital.

For other parts of Somalia, regional preparedness plans were presented at a special day-long SACB Cholera Workshop on 10 November. However, because of security concerns and lack of funding, some parts of cholera-prone Bay and Lower Shabelle regions do not have cholera treatment centers run by international aid agencies.

Across the country, UNICEF provides medical kits, Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS), and chlorine to purify water sources. Cholera prevention messages have been provided by UNICEF for distribution in health and education facilities across Somalia, while training of social mobilizers will begin shortly. The WHO provides intravenous solution and supports on-site training in case management and cholera control, as well as operational research on cholera. In addition, UNICEF and WHO are sending public health and water sanitation specialists to help coordinate the response to cholera where outbreaks are likely to occur.

It is hoped that local communities and Somali authorities will support these efforts – particularly with accurate reporting of numbers of cholera cases and deaths – an area riddled with confusion due to mis-reporting by some local authorities and press in the past.

For more information, please contact:

Dr. Imanol Berakoetxea, Health Coordinator Somali Aid Coordination Body, Health Committee Tel: (254 2) 441225

Farah Dar World Health Organization, Somalia Office Tel: (254 2) 623197 or 623198 or 623199

Julia Spry-Leverton or Patrick Mwangi UNICEF Support Center, Communications Section Tel: (254 2) 623958, or 623862 or 623959

Sonya Laurence Green, Information Officer UN Resident & Humanitarian Coordinator’s Office for Somalia Tel: (254 2) 448434, Fax: (254 2) 448439

Maura Barry Head of SACB Secretariat Tel: (254 2) 448434, Fax: (254 2) 442438

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