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 – WHO

TRT: 3 min 01s

SOURCE: UNTV CH

RESTRICTIONS: NONE

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/NATS

ASPECT RATIO: 16:9

DATELINE: 28 October 2022 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

SHOTLIST 

1. Wide, UN Geneva flag alley.
2. Wide, press room, photographer crouching to take photos, podium speakers, participants.
3. 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.”
4. Medium, journalist looking at speakers, photographer taking photos.
5. 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.”
6. Medium-wide, podium speakers.
7. 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.”
8. Medium, journalist typing on laptop.
9. 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.”
10. Wide, press room, participants.
11. 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.”
12. Medium , participant working on laptop.
13. 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.”
14. Close, photographer lining up shot.
15. 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.”
16. Medium, participants.
17. Wide, participants.
18. Medium, speakers.