Weekly Humanitarian Highlights in Ethiopia 05 May 2006

Source: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
posted to the web on May 5, 2006

May 5, 2006 - Recent reports indicate that ten people died and up to 1,400 people to date are affected by acute watery diarrhoea in Gambella Region, particularly in Gambella and Itang woredas. A few non-fatal cases have been reported in three refugee camps in the area. Presently UNHCR has suspended the repatriation operation of South Sudanese refugees due to logistical problems and as a preventive measure to the outbreak. The situation is exacerbated by a severe shortage of clean drinking water at Gambella Hospital. MSF-CH is treating the Baro river water with chlorine, and Population Services International’s WaterGuard, a chlorine treatment, is being sold on the market in Gambella town. Following the outbreak, the Regional Council established a Regional Task Force, presided by the Vice President of the Region. The Regional Health Bureau, as the main actor for the management and control of the outbreak, established two Technical Task Forces (case management and prevention and control), which meets fortnightly. At the Federal level, a UN inter-agency meeting was called by the WHO to discuss further preparedness and response plan. To discuss the water supply system in Gambella, the Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR) jointly with UNICEF convened an urgent meeting on 3 May in Addis Ababa with private and public enterprises. In the meeting, partners agreed to carry out interim activities in the region. MoWR will provide a generator, a de-watering pump, and six sets of 5,000 litre water bladders. It will also provide two trucks to carry the emergency supplies to Gambella town, as well as to provide water trucking services for the initial period of one month. WATT International (private organisation) has donated a submersible pump of 4 litre/second capacity in support of clean water provision and Water Works Construction Enterprise (WWCE) in an effort to solve the fuel shortage in the town, it has allowed the use of its fuel station in Gambella. UNICEF will arrange the use of the Catholic Church Mission’s borehole to draw water from the source and WWCE will install a temporary distribution system by laying a provisional pipeline. UNICEF is negotiating to send a drilling rig to fix Gambella’s town system. UNICEF has also sent four Emergency Water treatment Units, water purification chemicals, which are sufficient for up to two months, 200 Plastic Squatting Plates, 30 OXFAM Sanitation Kits, 12 water bladders as well as 14,000 bars of soap. In addition, UNICEF provided the treatment centres with ORS, ringers lactate and antibiotic drugs for the treatment of 3,000 cases of Acute Diarrhoeal Disease. To support the regional response activities, MoWR and UNICEF have sent experts to provide technical support in the areas of water quality and treatment. The Ministry of Health has also dispatched a health professional to assess the situation and identify gaps. Assessment reports will be shared with all partners in the coming week. Contact: mapted@unicef.org & GEGZIABK@unhcr.org