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Six million people need clean water, sanitation aid: Ethiopian Government
Severe water shortages are putting millions of lives at risk and forcing mass migration as people search for water, says international humanitarian aid agency World Vision.
Life-threatening drought conditions persist globally, including in Central and South America, Southern and Eastern Africa and the Pacific Islands.
“In parts of Ethiopia and Somalia, water is in such short supply that villagers are abandoning their homes and migrating in search of water. Children are absent from school as they search for water or move with their families to find it,” says World Vision.
“Across Africa alone, at least seven million people are without clean water as a result of El Nino weather,” warns World Vision Ethiopia Country Director, who is also a water specialist. “The actual number of people suffering from acute water shortages is probably much higher,” he said. “We have heard a lot about the widespread food shortages, but water shortages caused by El Nino are just as catastrophic. A person can survive for much longer without food than they can without water,” he added.
“If El Nino isn’t causing drought, it is causing floods – either way, the result is unsafe water or no water… Not only can a lack of water kill, but contaminated water can kill just as quickly. Diarrhea, which is often caused by unclean water and sanitation, can kill small children very quickly. The result is that water shortages hit children harder than anyone else.”
Zimbabwe. Water rationing is in effect in every city and town. 15, 000 boreholes have run dry and another 160 need to be drilled.
Lesotho. Rains have been delayed by more than two months and some rivers have completely dried up. The Ministry of Health reports that a number of elderly people have died from dehydration as they were less able to cart water from water points.
South Africa. Some 2.7 million households are facing water shortages – even hospitals are running out of water. Seven of the nine provinces have declared disasters and some have water rationing in place.
Honduras. World Vision staff report that desperate communities are digging wells in an attempt to find water, children are falling ill with diarrhea from drinking dirty water and villagers queue in the middle of the night at waterholes due to demand.
Papua New Guinea. Water supplies have been contaminated as people dig wells in order to find water and schools are also closing due to water shortages. An outbreak of typhoid and cholera in one area has killed at least 30 people.
One million children require treatment for severe acute malnutrition in Eastern and Southern Africa: UNICEF
Two years of erratic rain and drought have left about one million children in need of treatment for severe acute malnutrition in Eastern and Southern Africa, UNICEF said today.
Across the region, millions of children are at risk from hunger, water shortages and disease. It is a situation aggravated by rising food prices, forcing families to implement drastic coping mechanisms such as skipping meals and selling off assets.
States of disaster have been declared in Lesotho, Zimbabwe and most provinces in South Africa due to the growing resource shortages.
“In Ethiopia, the number of people in need of food assistance is expected to increase from over 10 million to 18 million.”
UNICEF says:
In Ethiopia, two seasons of failed rains mean that near on six million children currently require food assistance, with school absenteeism increasing as children are forced to walk greater distances in search of water;
In Somalia, more than two thirds of those in urgent need of assistance are displaced populations;
In Kenya, El Niño related heavy rains and floods are aggravating cholera outbreaks;
In Lesotho, one quarter of the population are affected. This aggravates grave circumstances for a country in which 34% of children are orphans, 57% of people live below the poverty line, and almost one in four adults live with HIV/Aids;
In Zimbabwe, an estimated 2.8 million people are facing food and nutrition insecurity. The drought situation has resulted in reduced water yields from the few functioning boreholes exacerbating the risk to water-borne diseases, especially diarrhea and cholera;
Malawi is facing the worst food crisis in nine years, with 2.8 million people (more than 15 per cent of the population) at risk of hunger; cases of severe acute malnutrition have just jumped by 100% in just two months, from December 2015 to January 2016;
In Angola, an estimated 1.4 million people are affected by extreme weather conditions and 800,000 people are facing food insecurity, mainly in the semi-arid southern provinces.
Meanwhile, the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) said up to 49 million people in southern Africa.
“It is estimated that 40 million rural people and 9 million poor urban people who live in drought-affected areas could be exposed,” the WFP said on Monday.
Death toll from severe weather in Afghanistan rises to at least 308
Some 182 districts in 20 provinces have been affected by heavy snow, avalanches and flooding, which have killed at least 308 people, injured 187 others and completely destroyed 4,776 houses, government sources said.
The number of casualties is expected to rise, with more severe weather forecast for northern and central Afghanistan.
Worsening Food Insecurity and Water Shortages in Ethiopia
Pocket areas that received inadequate seasonal rainfall in 2014 and/or had a poor harvest due to flooding or crop disease will remain vulnerable in early 2015.
Food insecurity is worsening in belg/gu/ganna/sugum rain-receiving areas, as the dry season reaches its peak. Delayed rains and the expected below-average seasonal rainfall will impact belg planting, as well as water and pasture availability in pastoralist areas, said UN OCHA.
Refugee Crisis
Ethiopia hosts the largest refugee population in Africa with 656,199 registered refugees including 251,545 South Sudanese refugees, 196,000 new arrivals in Gambella since mid-December 2013, and 125,000 Eritreans.
33,000 new Eritrean arrivals registered in 2014 (including unaccompanied minors).
VIRAL HEMORRHAGIC FEVERS EBOLA CONFIRMED IN LIBERIA .
Ebola HF cases confirmed in Liberia
At least two cases of Ebola have been confirmed in Liberia, apparently spreading from neighboring Guinea, where the deadly virus has killed 78 people.
The two confirmed cases in Liberia are sisters, one of whom had recently returned from Guinea, said officials.
The highly contagious virus is spread via close personal contact and kills between 25% and 90% of victims.
The first known outbreak in Guinea started in the remote southeastern Forest Region but had recently spread to the capital, Conakry [Population 2.2 million.]
Senegal shuts border with Guinea
Senegal government closed its border with neighboring Guinea soon after confirmation that the virus had reached Conakry.
“When it used to be only in the south of Guinea, we didn’t do anything special. But now that it’s reached Conakry, we believe it’s safer to close our borders,” said Senegal’s Health Minister.
“We have also closed all weekly markets, known as luma, in the south. And we’re having some discussions with religious leaders regarding big religious events,” she added.
Suspected cases of Ebola have also been reported in neighboring Sierra Leone.
Five subspecies of Ebolavirus have so far been found. Four of those have caused disease in humans: Ebola virus (Zaire ebolavirus); Sudan virus (Sudan ebolavirus); Taï Forest virus (Taï Forest ebolavirus, formerly Côte d’Ivoire ebolavirus); and Bundibugyo virus (Bundibugyo ebolavirus). The fifth, Reston virus (Reston ebolavirus), has caused disease in nonhuman primates, but not in humans, according to CDC.
There are no known cure or vaccine for the Ebola virus.
In Africa, confirmed cases of Ebola HF have previously been reported in the following countries:
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
Gabon
South Sudan
Ivory Coast
Uganda
Republic of the Congo (ROC)
South Africa (imported)
“The natural reservoir host of ebolaviruses, and the manner in which transmission of the virus to humans occurs, remain unknown. This makes risk assessment in endemic areas difficult. With the exception of several laboratory contamination cases (one in England and two in Russia), all cases of human illness or death have occurred in Africa; no case has been reported in the United States,” said CDC.
Ebola virions (image 2 colorized 1), diagnostic specimen from the first passage in Vero cells of a specimen from a human patient — this image is from the first isolation and visualization of Ebola virus, 1976. In this case, some of the filamentous virions are fused together, end-to-end, giving the appearance of a “bowl of spaghetti.” Negatively stained virions. Magnification: approximately x40,000. Micrograph from F. A. Murphy, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas.
12 deadly pathogens could spread into new regions aided by climate change
A report by Wildlife Conservation Society released on October 7, 2008 lists 12 deadly pathogens that could spread globally as a result of climate change. “All have potential impacts to both human and wildlife health as well as global economies.” Report said.
Titled ‘The Deadly Dozen: Wildlife Diseases in the Age of Climate Change,’ the report illustrates examples of diseases that could spread due to temperatures changes and variations in regional precipitation levels.
Final death toll from tropical cyclone 03A that hit Puntln, Somalia’s semi-autonomous region at the weekend could top 300, said the government.
Tropical cyclone 03A hit the Somali coast on November 10, 2013, prompting the Puntland government to declare a state of disaster on 11 November, citing very heavy rainfall and flash floods that have so far killed 140 people and at least 100,000 livestock. The government has “appealed for international aid to help the tiny Horn of Africa region, which is rich in energy resources and is being sized up by oil explorers,” said a report.
“So far we have confirmed the storm killed 140 people and left hundreds more missing. We are afraid the death toll may reach 300 because many people are still missing. Roads have been cut and the only access to those areas is by air,” Puntland’s interior minister told Reuters.
The government has asked the international community for supplies of clean water, non-perishable foods, medicines, shelter materials and blankets.
The cyclone brought torrential rains to the region causing flash floods that swept more than 100,000 livestock and scores of fishing boats into the Indian Ocean.
About 65 percent of Somalia’s population depends on livestock, said the FAO.
Famine has added to Somalia’s woes in the last three years.
“Knowing that livestock and fisheries are key livelihood activities in the affected regions, we anticipate the storm to heavily hurt coastal communities,” said the acting head of FAO in Somalia.
State of Emergency declared in Puntland, Somalia amid storm disaster
Hundreds are dead or missing after a tropical cyclone, known as 03A, hit Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region on Saturday, according to the government.
“A tropical cyclone storm (has) wreaked death and destruction… the storm brought high wind speeds and torrential rains, causing flash floods,” said the government of the of Puntland.
“Information collected from coastal areas via irregular telephone contact over the past 48 hours indicates that up to 100 people might have been killed, while hundreds of other people remain unaccounted for.”
Puntland President Farole said the scale of “crisis was immense,” as his government declared the calamity a “disaster,” proclaiming a state of emergency.
“Houses and livestock were swept into the ocean by the floods,” said the President at a news conference in the capital Garowe.
“We urge United Nations aid agencies to assist the victims. As Puntland, we have established a committee to investigate the loss and damage. Electricity, communication and fishing boats were all destroyed.”
The storm hit the eastern coast of the country, destroying entire villages and sweeping at least 100,000 livestock and scores of people into the ocean.
“Preliminary information also indicates that homes, buildings, boats and entire villages have been destroyed and over 100,000 livestock lost, endangering the livelihoods of tens of thousands of local people,” the government said.
High Winds and Heavy Rains
High winds and heavy rains hit a vast area causing flash floods and cutting off roads, as the immediate impact of the storm was forecast to continue until Wednesday.
“I have buried 10 members of my family, the icy storm and rain killed more than hundred people here,” Reuters quoted a villager as saying.
“I have never witnessed such fatal cold. Some people were blown away and others died after their houses collapsed on them. Some people, and the animals they were looking after, are still missing,” he said.
Locust plague threatens livelihoods of 60% of Madagascar population
Locust infestations is threatening the livelihoods of 13 million Malagasy, about 60 percent of the population, nine million of whom entirely depend on Agriculture.
The locust could wipe out food crops and livestock grazing lands and destroy the peasant families’ ability to provide for themselves, said the FAO.
“The heart of the locust plague is in the country’s southwestern region – an area prone to drought and cyclones, where more than 80 percent of the people live below the poverty line. In February 2013, Cyclone Haruna flooded rice fields in the region’s coastal areas – rice production is central to Madagascar’s economy – causing significant damage while also creating ideal breeding conditions for locusts. ”
More than 1.5 million hectares, some two-thirds of the country, could be infested by locusts by September 2013, said FAO.
A locust plague can last more than a decade, if left untreated, progressively intensifying each season. Tens of billion of locusts devastate food crops, as well as grazing lands, which are vital for keeping livestock healthy and productive.
Adult Migratory Locusts can multiply quickly, forming highly mobile groups and swarms. Depending on its size, a swarm – made up of millions of locusts – can eat up to 100 000 tonnes of green vegetation per day. A locust plague – which is what Madagascar is now facing – means thousands of swarms. That translates to billions of locusts. —FAO
Image of the Day: Hundreds of billions of plant-devouring insects hit Madagascar island.
The worst locust plague to hit Madagascar in 6 decades
A severe plague of locusts has infested about half of Madagascar, threatening crops and raising concerns about food shortages, according to FAO, a UN agency. FAO image viaBBC.
“Nearly 60% of the island’s more than 22m people could be threatened by a significant worsening of hunger in a country that already had extremely high rates of food insecurity and malnutrition,” said FAO.
“The last one was in the 1950s and it had a duration of 17 years so if nothing is done it can last for five to 10 years, depending on the conditions.” FAO locust control expert told BBC Focus on Africa.
“Currently, about half the country is infested by hoppers and flying swarms – each swarm made up of billions of plant-devouring insects,” the FAO said.
“FAO estimates that about two-thirds of the island country will be affected by the locust plague by September 2013 if no action is taken.”
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DISASTER CALENDAR – March 28, 2013— SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,080 Days Left
Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,080 Days Left to ‘Worst Day’ in the brief Human History
The land of southern Spain has dried, leading to rationing and disputes over water.Photo: Monica Gumm for The International Herald Tribune. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!
The average surface temperature in Spain has risen 2.7 degrees compared with about 1.4 degrees globally since 1880, records show. (Source)
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