Ethiopia – Northern Ethiopia Humanitarian Update Situation Report #38 – January 17, 2023
FAST FACTS
• International Medical Corps is operating 22 mobile medical units (MMUs) that have provided services to more than 810,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) settled in 26 IDP sites, as well as to affected host communities in the Afar, Amhara and Tigray regions.
• International Medical Corps’ MMUs are providing integrated health, nutrition, gender-based violence (GBV), mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services.
• We have extended services to Sheraro, Aksum and Adwa after resumption of services in Shire town.
• We are conducting assessments in newly accessible areas of western Tigray.
• We have launched mobile health and nutrition team (MHNT) services in Adiarkay
More than 3.9 million people in Tigray and more than 10 million people in Amhara have been affected by events in these regions and need health services and interventions. In Afar, only 94 of 414 health facilities (23%) are functional, including two hospitals and 31 health centers. In Amhara, more than 500 health facilities and 1,706 health posts need to be rehabilitated, renovated and supported with equipment and supplies to be operational.
Despite these challenges, International Medical Corps has continued to offer services and support to those affected by the current events in Tigray. After the signing of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement on November 2, our teams have joined ongoing assessments in newly accessible areas to evaluate emerging needs and respond as needed.
International Medical Corps Response
International Medical Corps continues to provide vital nutrition, health, gender-based violence (GBV), mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services to 26 sites hosting about 800,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Afar, Amhara, and Tigray regions. We provide a range of services through 22 mobile medical units (MMUs) in the regions (including three in Afar, eight in Amhara, five in Tigray and six in West Tigray), including outpatient consultations, nutrition screenings, perinatal consultations, family planning services and health education. We also operate a surge team comprising two medical officers in the Dansha region. In the past two weeks we have provided 20,932 outpatient consultations, screened 16,707 people for malnutrition and provided 319 people with MHPSS services.
Since the last week of November 2022, International Medical Corps has restarted services at nine IDP sites in Shire town, with a plan to resume services as soon as possible in other project sites in Tigray. With the recent resumption of humanitarian flights and road access to Tigray, our team has shipped more than 120 metric tons of medicines and medical supplies, program materials, and assorted sanitation- and hygiene-related non-food items into Tigray by road and air from Addis Ababa, resupplying our mobile teams and helping to address urgent program needs. This includes hand pumps sent to Shire to increase potable water availability in the region. In addition, the mobile team that we dispatched to Adiarkay has continued to provide screening, health and nutrition services.
Since the beginning of our response, International Medical Corps MMUs have provided 532,725 outpatient consultations, with 250,599 in Shire, Tigray; 144,377 in Dansha (in Kafta, Tegede and Wolkait humeras); 83,650 in Amhara (Dabat, Debark Dessie and Kombolcha); and 54,099 in Afar.
Our MMUs have screened 344,245 children aged under 5 and pregnant and lactating women (PLWs) for acute malnutrition. Of the children and PLWs screened, 89,789 were in Dansha, 143,830 were in Tigray, 38,558 were in Amhara and 72,068 were in Afar. The proxy prevalence of moderate acute malnutrition for children under 5 and PLWs is 17.8% and 38.7% respectively, while the prevalence of severe acute malnutrition is 2.77%. Over the past two weeks, International Medical Corps’ emergency response teams in North Gondar (Amhara), Semera (Afar) and Shire (Tigray) provided 20,932 healthcare consultations and screened 16,707 children under 5 and PLWs for malnutrition.
International Medical Corps has resumed WASH activities in Shire town and has delivered clean water via trucks daily, with 18,819 cubic meters delivered in our ongoing WASH response to date. In the past two weeks, we reached more than 24,682 people through hygiene promotion sessions, covering such topics as handwashing, proper use of latrines, safe household water handling and prevention of COVID-19. Our teams have also resumed providing service in Adwa, Aksum and Sheraro in the urban areas.
In response to the region’s supplies and logistical hurdles, and with the resumption of access, International Medical Corps is working closely with United Nations clusters and relevant authorities to facilitate and utilize space in air freight and road convoys. In the meantime, we are also keeping our teams in Afar and Northern Amhara supported and supplied with essential items for a comprehensive response.
International Medical Corps continues to explore all options to continue the procurement and transportation of medicines to our MMUs and supported health facilities, in an ongoing effort to maintain medical services and a continuity of healthcare.
Source: International Medical Corps