STAMFORD, CT – AmeriCares
is building and equipping a field hospital for the thousands of refugees
fleeing the devastating famine in Somalia. Tens of thousands have already died
and officials say 12.4 million people in the Horn of Africa need immediate
humanitarian relief from the worst drought in more than a half century.
The
4,500-square-foot AmeriCares field hospital will house a therapeutic feeding center,
operating room, intensive care unit, as well as a labor and delivery ward, laboratory
and pharmacy when it opens in Kenya at the end of September. The hospital will
be operated and managed by International Medical Corps, which is providing
medical professionals to staff the facility.
“More
than half of the children under age 5 arriving at refugee camps in Kenya are acutely
or severely malnourished, which weakens their immune systems,” said AmeriCares
VP of Emergency Response Ella Gudwin. “The field hospital will ensure they have
access to lifesaving medical services on site, as well as nutritional
interventions, dramatically increasing their chances of survival.”
The
facility will be built within Kambioos refugee camp, which opened earlier this
month to handle the overflow from the Dadaab complex; more than 400,000 people are
living in Dadaab, an overcrowded and underserved area initially intended to house
90,000. The new arrivals from Somalia – the sickest and most vulnerable
refugees – are transferred to Kambioos. AmeriCares
built similar field hospitals after earthquakes in Chile, China, Pakistan and
Haiti.
“We
are deeply grateful to our longtime and generous partner, AmeriCares, for
building and equipping this invaluable field hospital to support our
humanitarian relief efforts in Kenya,” said Nancy Aossey, President and CEO of
International Medical Corps. “This facility, as well as the medical equipment
and medicines AmeriCares is providing, will allow us to deliver health care to
a community devastated by drought and famine and to save countless lives.”
Since
1991, International Medical Corps has worked to deliver health care and
training to drought-prone communities throughout East Africa. The organization
is currently providing a multi-faceted drought and famine response in Kenya,
Ethiopia and Somalia with an emphasis on high-impact nutrition interventions.
As overcrowded refugee camp conditions can increase the risk of communicable
diseases, International Medical Corps is also prioritizing sanitation and
hygiene programs.
AmeriCares
immediately began rushing medical aid to East Africa after the United Nations
declared a famine in parts of Somalia in July. The first aid shipment contained
enough basic medicines and supplies to treat 15,000 severely malnourished
patients in Mogadishu. Nine more AmeriCares aid shipments are planned through
October, including deliveries of nutritional supplements and water purification
supplies.
AmeriCares has been aiding survivors of natural
disasters, political conflict and extreme poverty in Africa and around the
world for nearly 30 years, saving lives and restoring health and hope.
