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南索馬里糧食危機未除 饑荒地區增至6個 逾百萬名兒童遭受營養不良及疾病雙重夾擊

2011-09-05

On 16 August, Amina Ali carries her baby in Bouldougo, a slum area on the outskirts of Djibouti City, the capital. Ms. Ali, a widowed mother of four, is a Somali refugee whose family had been living in Ethiopia. After the last of her cattle died three months ago, she walked for eight days to reach Bouldougo. The area is missing even the most basic services. In Somali, Bouldougo means knocked out; some 400 families live in the area, including Somali refugees arriving from Somalia and Ethiopia. Ms. Ali now sells wood to support her family. I prefer to be here, she said. After my cattle in Ethiopia died, I have nothing to go back to. On 18 August 2011, the crisis in the Horn of Africa affecting primarily Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia and Djibouti continues, with a worsening drought, rising food prices and ongoing conflict in Somalia. Some 12.4 million people require assistance due to the regions worst drought in 60 years. Djibouti is proportionally the second most affected country in the region; approximately 20 per cent of the population more than 165,000 people require assistance, including 80,000 living in drought-affected areas. The country is one of the most water-scarce in the world, with chronic water shortages, but the situation has worsened this year. Malnutrition has been at emergency levels since 2002, but has peaked in recent months; most recent estimates indicate one fifth of children are suffering from moderate or acute malnutrition, one third are underweight, and nearly half are stunted. Additionally, over 17,000 refugees most of them from Somalia have arrived in the Djiboutis Ali-Addeh camp, which normally has a capacity of 7,000. UNICEF is supplying water and therapeutic food in the camp, and is assisting the Government of Djibouti with aid logistics. Together with Governments, UN, NGO and community partners, UNICEF is also supporting a range of interventions and essential services throughout the region. A joint United Nations appeal for humanitarian assistance for the region requires US$2.4 billion; there remains a shortfall of US$1.1 billion.
香港,2011年9月5日——南索馬里再多一個地區宣佈爆發饑荒,計及當地首都摩加迪沙、下謝貝利、巴科勒、中謝貝利、阿弗戈伊走廊和最近新增的拜州,至今被列入饑荒的地區已增至6個。若得不到適時救援,未來數月將有75萬人生命瀕危,饑荒情況更會持續蔓延至本年底。

最新宣布陷入饑荒的拜州,全球急性營養不良率高見58%,較世界衞生組織訂立的緊急級別15%,高出近3倍之多,而當地每5名兒童更有1名出現嚴重營養不良。然而,索馬里大旱已不只是糧食危機,而是關乎兒童生死存亡的嚴重危機。

在是次災難中,令兒童致命的元兇不僅是營養不良,麻疹、瘧疾、腹瀉及肺炎等各種疾病亦正威脅着兒童脆弱的生命。現時整個南索馬里約有150萬名兒童急需即時人道救援,他們只要得到治療便可望短時間內痊癒,否則未來數周這些兒童將抵受不住饑餓和疾病的煎熬,陸續喪生。

為了令更多兒童得到適時的治療,拯救更多生命,聯合國兒童基金會(UNICEF)正爭分奪秒,加快緊急救援工作,並集中推展地毯式補充餵飼計劃,目標在未來半年內每月惠及200,000戶家庭,以填補糧食援助的缺口。

而為慎防疫情爆發,UNICEF亦將加強防疫注射及擴大安全食水供應行動,包括:提供疫苗接種及加強麻疹預防計劃至200萬名兒童,同時透過開鑿取水處、調派水車及門診營養治療餵飼計劃等多管齊下,以擴闊安全食水供應的覆蓋面至當地家庭、難民營和中轉站的災民。

UNICEF預計整個「非洲之角」救援項目所需的目標善款約為逾港幣28.1億元(約3.6億美元),而截至9月6日來自全球的善款已籌得目標善款的74%。UNICEF衷心感謝各國政府、商界和私人界別無私的貢獻。