MSF says over half of undernourished children infected in some of its feeding centres
NAIROBI (AlertNet) - Cases of measles in famine-hit Somalia have surged, medical aid group Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said on Friday, with more than half of undernourished children in some feeding centres infected with the disease.
Four million people are in need of food aid in Somalia, where famine has been declared in six out of eight regions, with the rest predicted to slip into famine by the end of the year.
"Malnourished children under five are the most susceptible,” said MSF nutritionist Susan Shepherd in a statement.
“They get caught in a vicious circle where measles and malnutrition wear down their weakened body's defences, which can push them over the edge with complications like pneumonia and diarrhoea.”
Between May and September, 2,132 measles cases were reported - 70 percent of the year’s caseload - in MSF’s eight intensive feeding centres in Somalia.
In one MSF centre in Mogadishu’s Hodan district, over 50 percent of severely malnourished children also have measles. They have to be isolated so they don’t infect others.
Measles is airborne and spreads easily in camps for families displaced from their homes by hunger and conflict.
“Tens of thousands of vulnerable children are at risk when the disease sweeps through overcrowded displacement camps where malnutrition levels are high and immunity low,” MSF said.
Aside from treating identified cases, MSF’s priority is to vaccinate children
This involves time-consuming negotiations with local leaders and armed groups who control central and southern Somalia.
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