Children swept away as rains threaten the drought-displaced

Children swept away as rains threaten drought-displaced families

Torrential rain has hit drought-displaced families living in squalid camps in Mogadishu, Somalia.

The rains have flooded flimsy shelters of nearly 2,800 people living in the Sigale camp. Two children were killed by surging waters, another is missing, and a pregnant mother died in the chaos as families sought shelter from the downpour.

Thousands of hungry and desperate people arrived in the Somali capital over recent months, fleeing food shortages caused by a terrible drought in East Africa. Many have settled in makeshift camps in areas vulnerable to flooding.

The arrival of the autumn rains in Mogadishu signals an alleviation of the drought, but will pose new threats to families living without adequate shelter in atrocious conditions.

“It is heartbreaking to see that children who are struggling without enough to eat are now being caught up in rushing waters, sitting out in the rain all night, and risking contracting diseases such as cholera and typhoid,” says Sonia Zambakides, head of Save the Children’s emergency response programme in Somalia.

“We have over 60 staff working around the clock to keep them safe, but we don’t have the funding to do everything we need to, like installing drainage systems so people aren’t living in standing water, and providing people with better shelter. The rains are going to get worse and we must provide help to these families as this crisis enters a new phase,” Ms Zambakidse says.

Over half of the children in the Somali capital are malnourished due to the food crisis. Save the Children fears that their weakened state will leave them vulnerable to deadly diseases associated with unclean water. Children who are struggling without enough to eat are now being caught up in rushing waters, sitting out in the rain all night, and risking contracting diseases such as cholera and typhoid.

Hassan Ali Noor, an elder living in Sigale camp, said that residents were bracing for more rain-related deaths.

“These people have no hope in life if they are to stand what they experienced last night. As you can see there are already three dead people as a result of the destruction caused by the rains and if it goes like this we will experience many more deaths” he says.

Save the Children is urgently procuring shelter items and working to create drainage in the camps to drain off the water. We are providing safe water to 24,000 people in Sigale camp and currently have four health teams on the ground in Sigale camp. Last week alone we reached 1,302 people with primary healthcare and treated 352 children under five, who were suffering from malaria, pneumonia or diarrhoea. We are also working to prevent waterborne diseases and last week we reached 1,795 people with hygiene messages. With Somali partner Centre for Peace and Democracy, we are delivering lifesaving food, water, medical care and sanitation facilities to 42,000 people in Mogadishu, as well as working in other areas of South Central Somalia, Puntland, Somaliland, Kenya and Ethiopia.

ENDS

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