Kenya: Floods trigger death and massive displacement, threaten disease outbreaks
May 4, 2018
Water sources have been contaminated and 33 health centres have been destroyed along with homes, crops, irrigation systems and farm equipment, and roads and train lines
NAIROBI, Kenya, May 4, 2018,-/African Media Agency (AMA)/- More than a month of heavy rains are wreaking havoc in Kenya, triggering floods that have claimed an estimated 100 lives and displaced nearly 260,000 people.
Many of the communities affected were already struggling to recover from the 2017 drought.
“This is a double tragedy for many communities,” said Abbas Gullet, Secretary General of the Kenya Red Cross Society. “These people are strong, and they have already overcome so much adversity. But there is only so much a person can take, and I’m worried that these floods will push some people beyond the brink.”
Kenya Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) will be focusing much of their efforts on supporting these “high risk” communities.
“We will be supporting people from 15 out of the 29 affected counties. These include ten counties that we have already been supporting through our drought response programme,” added Gullet.
The floods may also trigger or worsen outbreaks of disease such as malaria and cholera. Water sources have been contaminated and 33 health centres have been destroyed along with homes, crops, irrigation systems and farm equipment, and roads and train lines.
“There are already active cholera outbreaks in five of the counties affected by floods. We fear that these outbreaks could worsen and spread,” said Dr Fatoumata Nafo-Traoré, Regional Director for Africa at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
“We are also worried that once the rains subside, people may face an upsurge of mosquito-borne disease such as dengue fever, chikungunya and malaria. We need to act now to pre-empt these very real, and potentially very deadly threats,” said Dr Nafo-Traoré.
IFRC and Kenya Red Cross Society have launched an international emergency appeal for 4.7 million Swiss francs to provide shelter and settlement, health and nutrition, water and sanitation and food security and livelihoods support for 150,000 people.
Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
Nkemnji Global Tech
Featured
Mozambique: Two killed in collapse of illegal mine in Cabo Delgado.
Pan African Visions | January 26, 2021 8:38 am
Being and Becoming African as a Permanent Work in Progress:Inspiration from Chinua Achebe’s Proverbs
Pan African Visions | January 26, 2021 8:27 am
PROPHET LOVY ANNOUNCES OPENING OF NEW WORSHIP CENTRE.
Pan African Visions | January 24, 2021 10:51 am
Cameroon: Achiri Victor, DavLinks Launches Online Platforms to Market Cameroonian Movies
Pan African Visions | January 23, 2021 10:07 pm
Recent News
-
eLife Publishes AIMS Researcher’s Paper on HIV Treatment
January 26, 2021 7:05 pm
-
Rwanda denies existence of unofficial military detention centers
January 26, 2021 5:03 pm
-
The National Question and the Quest for Restructuring in Nigeria
January 26, 2021 9:26 am
-
Cuban health workers arrive in Mozambique to fight covid-19
January 26, 2021 8:43 am
-
Mozambique: Two killed in collapse of illegal mine in Cabo Delgado.
January 26, 2021 8:38 am
Leave a Reply