DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS Somalia: Population needs immediate assistance
Dr.Wagner Paulon
2008
Doctors Without Borders demanding that humanitarian actors have safe and unimpeded access to carry out the work necessary to save lives
26/06/2008 - The people of Somalia now faces a major humanitarian crisis, yet without the necessary response. Only in May, the teams from Doctors Without Borders (MSF) who work in Hawa Abdi and Afgoye, suburbs of Mogadishu, processed more than 2.5 thousand children suffering from acute malnutrition, with the number of admissions in nutritional programs doubling of MSF in April and again in May. Levels of malnutrition have exceeded the minimum determinant of an emergency for one year. The number of new cases is increasing dramatically as the external assistance is decreasing in quality and quantity due to the general level of insecurity and as humanitarian workers are increasingly becoming targets of attacks. The Somalis who try to flee the violence have few options for escape, since the main border crossings are closed.
"Somalia is no longer on the brink of a disaster, the disaster because it already exists," said Bruno Jochum, director of operations for MSF who is based in Geneva (Switzerland). "Only last week, more than 500 children were severely malnourished admitted in our nutritional programs. One in six of them need to be hospitalized due to medical complications. If this trend continues, malnutrition will soon affect more generally the population such as children with more than five years of age and vulnerable adults. The situation is tragic and we failed to provide the aid necessary to prevent the situation getting even worse. "
In the corridor of Afgoye-Mogadishu, over 250 thousand people live in overcrowded places and the number tends to grow as more people leave the capital to flee the violence. Less than ten liters of clean water available per person per day and most families live in improvised shelters, which offer little security. Prices for basic foodstuffs such as rice and maize, tripled since the beginning of the year and many IDPs rely solely on external assistance.
Violence continues in Mogadishu and its surroundings, which meant that civilians pay a price too expensive. The department of surgery for MSF in Dayniile, on the outskirts of Mogadishu, dealt with more than 2.1 thousand people suffering from trauma since the beginning of 2008. More than half were women and children under 14 years of age. Among our patients, 56% received treatment for injuries related to violence, as gunfire and explosions.
This highly volatile security environment prevents any important developments in terms of quality of care. Humanitarian workers are often targeted and no organization, including MSF, can work in a continuous way with an international team.
"Eighteen months after the political and military involvement of members of the international community on behalf of restoring stability and the fight against terrorism, the situation is catastrophic for the Somali population," said Dr. Christophe Fournier, president of the International Council of MSF. "The conflict worsened, with promoted violence against civilians by all parties, contributing to the current humanitarian disaster. MSF calls for the independence of humanitarian action with respect to the political agenda and the maintenance of peace is guaranteed and that all belligerents guarantee safe access and unrestricted to all humanitarian actors. "
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