Measles, diarrhea kills 24 Somali kids

Sun Sep 25, 2011

Measles and diarrhea has killed at least 24 children in Somalia while 364 others reported in serious conditions due to the diseases, Press TV reports.

According to doctors, more than 24 Somali children died in Baidoa Hospital on Saturday in southern Mogadishu where cases of waterborne diseases have increased due to unhygienic living conditions.

A combination of poor sanitation conditions, scarcity of safe and clean drinking water, and overcrowding has led to the spread of waterborne diseases in the capital Mogadishu.

According to the World Health Organization, some 75 percent of all cases of highly infectious diarrhea in the famine-stricken African country are among children under the age of five.

Cholera is confirmed in Banadir, Bay, Mudug and Lower Shabelle regions of Somalia, and the number of acute diarrhea cases has increased dramatically in the last few months.

Reports say that aid agencies can take food supplies to only a limited number of people affected by the disaster since insecurity hinders efforts in much of the country's south.

Somalia has been without an effective central government since the 1991 overthrow of its former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/201067.html.