Mortality rates in displaced and resident populations of central Somalia during 1992 famine

Famine and civil war have resulted in high mortality rates and large population displacements in Somalia. To assess mortality rates and risk factors for mortality, we carried out surveys in the central Somali towns of Afgoi and Baidoa in November and Decemmber, 1992. In Baidoa we surveyed displaced persons living in camps, the average daily crude mortality rate was 16.8 (95

CI 14.6-19.1) per 10.000 population during the 232 days before the survey. An estimated 74

of children under 5 years living in displaced persons camps died during this period. In Afgoi, where both displaced and resident populations were surveyed, the crude mortality rate was 4.7 (3.9-5.5) deaths per 10.000 per day. Although mortality rates for all displaced persons were high, people living in temporary camps were at highest risk of death. As in other famine-related disasters, preventable infectious diseases such as measles and diarrhoea were the primary causes of death in both towns. These mortality rates are among the highest documented for a civilian population over a long period. Community-based public health interventions to prevent and control common infectious diseses qre needed to reduce these exceptionally high mortality rates in Somalia(AU)

Malnutrition and anaemia among Somali refugee children in long term camps

In a long term Somali refugee camp where nutritional and general health status of children is now considered satisfactory and stable, a randomized community based survey of 300 children under five years was under taken. Results indicate that the prevalence of protein-energy malnutrition is rising again: 17.3 percent of children are <80 percent median weight/height and 1.7 per cent are <70 percent median weight/height. In addition, there is a high prevalecence of anaemia: 50.5 percent have a haemoglobin level <9g percent and 10.8 percent <6g percent. This cannot be explained by chronic malaria as the spleen rate is only 2 percent. Stool examination of 161 children show 29.8 per cent to have evidence of Giardia Lamblia infection, but this is not statistically correlated with either anaemia or with protein-energy malnutrition. Other potentially pathogenic parasites are uncommon and no hookworm is seen. Examination of blood films of anaemic children shows hypochromia as a striking feature. It is concluded that nutritional deficiencies are a likely major factor in the aetiology of the anaemia. Both protein-energy malnutrition and anaemia seem related to the weaning period (AU)

Somalia : What happens when the teams go home?

The hundreds of thousands of drought victims and refugees in Somalia's camps are largely having their health problems attended to by expatriate medical teams. UNICEF has been supporting the training of refugees as community health workers to try to establish primary health care servivices for the longer-term (AU)