Baghdad-INA
The United Nations warned Thursday that the number of people infected with cholera and acute liquid diarrhea in Somalia since the beginning of the year has reached about 4,400, of whom 54 people have died, a significant increase compared to previous years.
Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the United Nations Secretary-General, said: “The United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is concerned about the spread of cholera and acute liquid diarrhea in the country.”
He added that since the beginning of the year, “nearly 4,400 infections and 54 deaths have been recorded in almost half of Somalia’s regions,” noting that “more than 60% of the dead are children under the age of five.”
Dujarric explained that, according to the World Health Organization, this number is three times the average of the previous three years.
Cholera is a disease that spreads through food and water contaminated with feces containing the Vibrio cholerae bacteria.
Since 2021, this disease has recorded a severe spread worldwide.
The countries affected by this disease are Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Sudan, Syria, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Controlling the disease is hampered by the lack of sufficient quantities of vaccines.
In this context, the United Nations has developed a six-month “action plan” for Somalia that includes pre-positioning of treatment tools, monitoring of cases, etc.
But financing this plan requires $6 million.
“We urgently need additional funds,” Dujarric said.
The value of the humanitarian response plan developed by the United Nations for Somalia for the year 20024 amounts to $1.6 billion, an amount of which only 10% has been secured to date.