Monday, May 21, 2012
The United Nations humanitarian agency has warned of cholera outbreak in the Somali capital, Mogadishu and south central Somalia due to unhygienic living conditions,Press TV reports.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported a steady increase in suspected cholera cases from April 9 to May 6 in southern and central regions of Somalia.
Banadir region in southern Somalia accounts for 49 percent of the 777 cases reported between April 30 and May 6, representing an 11 percent increase from the week before the end of April.
OCHA says that although these figures do not suggest a majorepidemic, there are serious concerns of an increased risk of a cholera outbreak in Banadir region and the Balcad and Afgooye corridors, where there is a high density of internally displaced persons (IDPs).
“Most of the cases are IDPs, because of the condition … lack of the water,” Wardhere Hassan of the American Refugee Council said.
Somalia remains one of the countries generating the highest number of refugees and internally displaced people in the world.
Source: PressTV