The NGO Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) recorded a record number of admissions for severe malnutrition in the Ethiopian refugee camp of Dagahaley (east) in 2022, treating more than 12,000 patients, 33 percent more than the previous year.
«Our data also shows an increase in the rate of global acute malnutrition among children in Dagahaley camp, which reached 8 percent during screening using MUAC, the bracelet that measures mid-arm circumference, in December 2022,» the NGO said in a statement, adding that this represents a 45 percent increase over the previous year.
The NGO has noted that, to address the situation, they have opened two medical posts in Dagahaley, as well as 50 latrines and two water tanks. Doctors Without Borders has also distributed basic necessities for 800 newly arrived families in the camp.
«Unless donor appeals materialize and urgent action is taken, the influx of refugees may push the crisis beyond the levels that humanitarian organizations can manage with the resources currently allocated,» he warned.
The United Nations has warned that new rains may occur in the region, for the sixth consecutive time, which will further aggravate the scale and severity of the humanitarian emergency in the Horn of Africa and especially in Dadaab, where refugees have been trapped in a chronic emergency situation for 30 years.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
