MSF launches mass vaccination in Ethiopian camp

Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) launched a mass vaccination Thursday against measles at a refugee camp in southern Ethiopia hosting Somalis who have fled a severe drought.

The Dolo Ado camps host 118,400 Somali refugees, including 78,000 who arrived this year, and on the first day 3,000 children were vaccinated.

“(Among) our 10 priorities, the first is vaccination campaign for measles,” MSF emergency coordinator Guillem Perez told AFP.

The UN refugee agency at the weekend announced a measles outbreak in the camps where the residents are especially vulnerable to communicable diseases due to congestion and immunity weakened by malnutrition.

The vaccination is targeting children under 15.

“Children are the most vulnerable, so they are our first priority,” said UN refugee agency spokeswoman Laura Padoan, who added that if the outbreak spreads, adults will also be vaccinated.

Many of the Somali refugees also suffer from malnutrition and aid agencies voiced worry their plight be made worsr by the measles outbreak.

“Malnutrition is very high, so if you mix malnutrition with measles, the scenario is very bad in terms of public health,” Perez said.

For Hassan Majero, who fled Somalia to seek refuge in neighbouring Ethiopia, the immunisation came too late. Three of his five children have measles.

“They felt sick and then they had diarrhoea and then pimples appeared,” Hassan recounted.

“I am very worried,” he added, sitting among his children at the health centre in the camp.

A harsh and prolonged drought in the Horn of Africa has left some 12 million people facing starvation and aid agencies are scrambling to deliver aid and medicine to help victims of the region’s worst drought in decades.

Parts of Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya and Uganda have been affected by the drought, but war-wracked Somalia has been the worst hit in the region.

Thousands of Somalis have fled to neighbouring Kenya and Ethiopia for help.

Ethiopia this week began relocating Somali refugees to a fourth camp opened last Friday. It will house some 15,000 people.


PLEASE SUBSCRIBE FOR THE LATEST UPDATED INFORMATION. PLEASE LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW ON THIS SUBJECT. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?

17 Responses to MSF launches mass vaccination in Ethiopian camp

  1. I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you make this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you? Plz respond as I’m looking to design my own blog and would like to find out where u got this from. thanks

  2. You manufactured plenty of decent factors there. I did a search around the theme and determined the bulk of everyday people will consent together with your weblog.

  3. Heya i am for the first time here. I came across this board and I find It truly helpful & it helped me out much. I am hoping to provide something again and aid others like you aided me.

  4. I really enjoy looking through on this website, it contains great blog posts.

  5. This design is wicked! You definitely know how to keep a reader entertained. Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well, almost…HaHa!) Great job. I really loved what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented it. Too cool!

  6. The both of us really enjoyed your post. It appears like you’ve put a lot of effort into your article and the human race need much more of these on the Net these days. I do not real have a large deal to say in retort, I just wanted to comment to tell well done. marvelous post. i never thought of that.

  7. I like this web blog it’s a master piece! Glad I found this on google.

  8. That is the best weblog for anyone who wants to find out about this topic. You understand so much its nearly laborious to argue with you (not that I truly would need…HaHa). You positively put a new spin on a topic thats been written about for years. Great stuff, just nice!

  9. i need more information will there be updates

  10. You actually make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this topic to be really something which I think I would never understand. It seems too complex and very broad for me. I am looking forward for your next post, I’ll try to get the hang of it!

  11. Fantastic website. A lot of helpful info here. I’m sending it to several buddies ans additionally sharing in delicious. And naturally, thank you in your effort!

  12. Tip top stuff. I’ll expcet more now.

  13. Hmm it appears like your blog ate my first comment (it was super long) so I guess I’ll just sum it up what I had written and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog. I as well am an aspiring blog writer but I’m still new to the whole thing. Do you have any points for first-time blog writers? I’d certainly appreciate it.

  14. Youre so cool! I dont suppose Ive read anything like this before. So nice to find somebody with some original thoughts on this subject. realy thank you for starting this up. this website is something that is needed on the web, someone with a little originality. useful job for bringing something new to the internet!

  15. Jonice Inc can supply Cheap Nike High HeelsNike Women ShoesNike High heels Blacknike high heels purplenike sliver high heelsnike high heels for saleDunk High Heel Shoesdunk sports high heelsdunk high heel white and so on

  16. Hi there! I just want to give a huge thumbs up for the nice data you’ve here on this post. I shall be coming again to your blog soon.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *