AmeriCares
has launched a large-scale emergency response in Somalia, including several shipments of medicines, nutritional
supplements, water purification tablets and medical supplies to help save as
many lives as possible in this beleaguered region of Africa.
Our prolonged famine response includes shipments of
urgently requested aid to help families struggling to survive, particularly
babies, young children, pregnant and breastfeeding women who are especially at
risk. U.N. officials estimate that tens of thousands have already died and more
than a half million children are on the brink of starvation. More than 100,000 have
fled their homes, pouring into makeshift camps in Mogadishu as well as to overwhelmed
camps on the borders of Kenya and Ethiopia, which have become a breeding ground
for cholera and other diseases.
As the crisis worsens, the need is great. Help AmeriCares reduce human suffering and save lives in Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia.
Immediate
Response
As news of the crisis unfolded, a rush shipment of
emergency aid was delivered to Mogadishu in early August, supplying emergency medical
aid to clinics and mobile teams to treat 15,000 sick and malnourished children
and adults.
“One out of every three people in Somalia suffers from
acute malnutrition, which weakens immune systems and increases risk of
disease,” said AmeriCares SVP of Global Programs Christoph Gorder. “Our
deliveries of antibiotics, nutritional supplements and basic medicines and
supplies will help save countless lives.”
Ongoing
Disaster Relief Pipeline
A series of shipments now underway includes
nutritional supplements, water purification sachets and emergency supplies for the
prevention and treatment cholera and acute watery diarrhea:
- Nutritional
Supplements to feed 13,000 for one month: Shipments
of nutrient-rich porridge—especially
beneficial for children under five, pregnant and breastfeeding women—are scheduled for delivery in August and
September to be distributed in Somalia and Kenya for supplemental feeding
programs.
- Water
purification sachets to provide clean water for
34,000 people:
Clean water remains a constant challenge in drought-ravaged areas
of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.
AmeriCares will provide 3.1 million water purifying sachets to be
distributed through training programs to replenish water stocks for three
camp-based water and sanitation programs in Kenya and for communities
suffering famine in southern Ethiopia.
These sachets will produce enough water to benefit 34,000 people
for two months.
- Medicines
and supplies to fight cholera: Several cholera
outbreaks have been confirmed, with hundreds of deaths already reported
across the region. Deliveries of additional medicines and supplies to
treat treatment cholera and acute watery diarrhea are now being planned to
help a growing number of patients suffering with these life-threatening
diseases.
Ongoing
Aid
In addition to delivering aid to settlement areas in
Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia, AmeriCares is helping partners deliver primary
health care to drought affected communities so that families do not have to
make the perilous journey to refugee camps.
Long-term plans include the possible establishment
of a field hospital to treat patients in a new overflow refugee camp near
Dadaab in Kenya, and the launch of a measles vaccination program to reduce risk
of an epidemic among populations at risk.
Since 1985, when severe famine claimed one million
lives in Ethiopia, AmeriCares has worked to help African men, women and
children in crisis. During the height of Rwanda's civil war and violent strife
in 1994, AmeriCares set up a field hospital to help children and families in
desperate need. Previous aid to Somalia includes more than $3 million in
medicines, nutritional supplements, and vitamins during the height of the
drought and war-stricken nation’s food crisis of 2008-09.
