More than 2,000 cholera cases were reported in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia during the first two months of 2020, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) has said.
“So far in 2020, there have been more than 2,000 cases of cholera in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia, while Sudan was declared cholera-free as of Jan. 23″ the UNOCHA said.
The UNOCHA said this in its latest humanitarian update statement issued in Kenya.
It called for greater concerted efforts against cholera and other communicable diseases across the region.
“Measles outbreaks are ongoing in Ethiopia, Kenya and South Sudan, while cases of Chikungunya and Leishmaniasis have been reported in Kenya.
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“While dengue and polio in Ethiopia and hepatitis E are in South Sudan,” the UNOCHA statement said.
It noted that other humanitarian challenges were exacerbating the situation.
“The ongoing desert locust upsurge comes at a time when the region is battling multiple communicable disease outbreaks,” it said.
About 12.3 million people are now forcibly displaced across the region, including 8.1 million internally displaced ones.
UNOCHA also emphasised the humanitarian impacts of recurrent humanitarian calamities that are associated with recent extreme weather events emanated from the climate crisis in the country.
In addition to the three Horn of Africa countries that are Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia, the Red Sea nation of Djibouti also witnessed a surge in vector-induced public health perils early January.
This caused diseases such as dengue and Chikungunya, following heavy rains that triggered flash floods.