The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Northern Ethiopia facing likely devastating spike in preventable disease: WHO
The UN health agency WHO expressed serious concerns on Friday about a likely spike in a range of preventable diseases in Ethiopia’s northern regions - and in particular Tigray – caused by nearly two years of conflict and chronic aid access problems.
“There are 5.2 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in Tigray; that number includes 3.8 million people who are in need of health assistance and we need to reach these people,” said Ilham Abdelhai Nour, World Health Organization Team Lead for Ethiopia, Incident Management System and Emergencies Operations.
“We have access in Amhara and Afar, so we know more about the situation there and we were able to intervene and support,” Ms. Nour said, referring to the regions bordering Tigray. “However, we do not have access in Tigray; there is no air or road access in Tigray for the last six weeks.”
According to WHO, malaria infections have risen by a full 80 per cent in Tigray and by 40 per cent in Amhara compared to last year – although cases are decreasing in Afar.
But malaria is just one of the deadly threats facing millions of people affected by conflict and humanitarian agencies have issued repeated alerts on their behalf, since fighting between federal troops and separatists in Tigray erupted in November 2020.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus – himself an ethnic Tigrayan - has echoed those concerns several times, including last week, when he warned that there was only a “very narrow window” to prevent genocide in his home region.
Despite the physical and telecommunications access barriers faced by aid teams working in Tigray, enough regular updates have emerged from the region – sometimes delivered by hand to WHO - to warrant Friday’s alert, the UN agency insisted.
Citing UN World Food Programme (WFP) data, WHO noted that in Amhara and Afar, 19 per cent and 14 per cent of mainly displaced children under five were now food insecure, while in Tigray, “a staggering” 89 per cent of the population is food insecure and nearly half are severely food insecure.
“Almost one in every three children under five in Tigray is malnourished,” said Altaf Musani, Director of the Health Emergencies Interventions, speaking in Geneva. “Severe acute malnutrition among children in the region is six per cent, 65 per cent of children have not received nutritional support in over a year.”
Highlighting the clear link between malnutrition and disease, Mr. Musani described how basic health services had been cut. Understanding the true scale of needs has also been complicated by the fact that only 30 per cent of health facilities in Tigray are still able to provide weekly situation reports to WHO.
“Immunisation services (are) a lifeline to children to keep them alive; those services have stopped,” Mr. Musani said. “We know that there are confirmed reports of stockouts, IV fluids, antibiotics other treatment medicines don’t exist in those facilities, we’ve had first-hand reports of that information.”
As peace talks between the combatants began this week in South Africa, Tigrayan communities urgently need guaranteed and safe access to provide lifesaving assistance, WHO insisted.
“Access was intermittent between March and August and during the humanitarian truce (in Afar, Amhara and Tigray) we were able to bring in, not a lot, but really a small quantity that covers really a small amount of the needs there, said Ms. Nour: “We were also able to support essential services in Tigray, support the measles campaign there, but we were unable to distribute supplies very quickly because of little cash and fuel. We were unable to undertake malaria prevention activities because of the same reasons; we were not able to extend the COVID-19 vaccination campaign beyond the capital Mekelle, so we have a huge issue of access there.”
ends
STORY: Health Alert Northern Ethiopia – WHOTRT: 3 min 01s
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 28 October 2022 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Wide, UN Geneva flag alley.
- Wide, press room, photographer crouching to take photos, podium speakers, participants.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Ilham Abdelhai Nour, Team Lead for Ethiopia, Incident Management System and Emergencies Operations: “There are 5.2 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in Tigray; that number includes 3.8 million people who are in need of health assistance and we need to reach these people.”
- Medium, journalist looking at speakers, photographer taking photos.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Altaf Musani, Director of the Health Emergencies Interventions: “Almost one in every three children under five in Tigray is malnourished. Severe acute malnutrition among children in the region is six per cent, 65 per cent of children have not received nutritional support in over a year.”
- Medium-wide, podium speakers.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Altaf Musani, Director of the Health Emergencies Interventions: “We’re very clear about the cycle of malnutrition and disease and the likelihood for that.”
- Medium, journalist typing on laptop.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Altaf Musani, Director of the Health Emergencies Interventions: “Immunisation services is a lifeline to children to keep them alive; those services have stopped. We know that there are confirmed reports of stockouts, IV fluids, antibiotics other treatment medicines don’t exist in those facilities, we’ve had first hand reports of that information.”
- Wide, press room, participants.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Ilham Abdelhai Nour, Team Lead for Ethiopia, Incident Management System and Emergencies Operations: “We have access in Amhara and Afar, so we know more about the situation there and we were able to intervene and support. However, we do not have access in Tigray; there is no air or road access in Tigray for the last six weeks.”
- Medium , participant working on laptop.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Ilham Abdelhai Nour, Team Lead for Ethiopia, Incident Management System and Emergencies Operations: “Before that, the access was intermittent between March and August and during the humanitarian truce we were able to bring in, not a lot, but really a small quantity that covers really a small amount of the needs there.”
- Close, photographer lining up shot.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Ilham Abdelhai Nour, Team Lead for Ethiopia, Incident Management System and Emergencies Operations: “We were also able to support essential services in Tigray, support the measles campaign there, but we were unable to distribute supplies very quickly because of little cash and fuel. We were unable to undertake malaria prevention activities because of the same reasons, we were not able to extend the COVID-19 vaccination campaign beyond the capital Mekelle, so we have a huge issue of access there.”
- Medium, participants.
- Wide, participants.
- Medium, speakers.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
“A series of new Israeli operations and settlement plans in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, risk seriously undermining the viability of a Palestinian state and the realisation of the Palestinians’ right to self-determination,” the UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan told the bi-weekly press conference in Geneva today.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OHCHR , UNECE , WHO
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, and the World Health Organization.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNIS
UN voices concern over chemical spraying incident on Lebanon’s Blue Line
The UN reiterated concerns on Friday at reports that Israeli forces sprayed herbicide over areas north of the Blue Line separating Lebanon from Israel. The development poses a “serious humanitarian risk” to civilians living there, said the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), briefing journalists in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Gaza: Five patients evacuated as Rafah reopens while ‘too many stayed behind’ – WHO
As time is running out for thousands of critically ill patients in Gaza, hope is alive for medical evacuations to increase with the reopening of the Rafah crossing in the southern part of the Strip, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WHO , IFRC
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the World Health Organization and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNOG , OHCHR
This Sunday marks five years of crisis in Myanmar. Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the UN Human Rights, and James Rodehaver, chief of the Myanmar team, today spoke on the conduct of recent military-imposed elections, deploring the failure to respect the fundamental human rights of the country’s citizens. The process served only to exacerbate violence and societal polarization.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNEP , UNCTAD , HRC , OHCHR , UNHCR , WFP , UNICEF , WHO
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, World Food Programme, United Nations Children's Fund, World Health Organization, United Nations Trade and Development, and the United Nations Environment Programme.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
Brutal Gaza war erased years of progress on education, in an “assault on the future itself” – UNICEF
Restoring Gaza’s shattered education system is “lifesaving” and getting children back into schools must be an immediate priority, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNICEF , ITU
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the United Nations Children's Fund, the International Telecommunication Union and the International Organization for Migration.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , HRC
Volker Türk, the UN Human Rights High Commissioner, made the following remarks during a briefing to a Special Session on Iran at the Human Rights Council.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , UNOPS , UNIS
Amid the launch of President Trump's Board of Peace and reconstruction talks on Gaza, UN aid agencies insisted on Friday that what Gazans need most is immediate relief from the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe there.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IFRC , IOM , UNOPS , UNRWA , WHO
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, the United Nations Office for Project Services, the UN International Organization for Migration, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies