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Humanitarian Crises Continue in Afar: UN New Measles Report in the RegionThe Daily Monitor (Addis Ababa)NEWS; March 8, 2005 Posted to the web March 10, 2005 By Dagnachew Teklu, Addis Ababa UN expressed its concern at the alarmingly increasing humanitarian crises in Afar Region where new cases of measles are being reported in the region. A UN report, released this week said that a humanitarian crisis in the region is getting worse than it was reported during the past weeks. "The Afar Pastoralist Development Association (APDA) reports that serious humanitarian situation persists especially in zone one of Afar Region. Families with their livestock that migrated to the neighbouring highlands in search of pasture and water are returning as the farmers in those districts are about to prepare the land for crop growing," UN said. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), APDA has witnessed that the contentious issue of selected animal feeding to save a milking and breeding herd remains unresolved in the area. "Woreda officials claimed that on 21 February, 70 families arrived in Elidar woreda from Aba'a kebele, an extremely remote area on the north-western border of the woreda. They claimed that they have lost their entire herd," it said. APDA also reported that market prices are critically low and goats sell for as low as 10.00 birr and cows 50.00 birr It was also indicated that UNICEF reported five laboratory confirmed cases of measles and an additional five more by epidemiological tests in Assaita woreda of Afar Region. An additional 16 cases have been reported in Dupti woreda but not yet laboratory-confirmed said the report. "This region was covered by the large vaccination campaigns in late 2002 and early 2003. However, to conduct a new measles campaign more than 1.2 million US dollars is required which is expected from the Joint Appeal 2005," UN added. Go to SOURCE of article |