32 Deaths from AWD in Mogadishu
Hospitals and NGOs have reported a total of at least 32 deaths in Mogadishu from Acute Watery Diarrhea (AWD) in recent weeks. Most of the fatalities were children. Hundreds of cases of AWD have been reported, as displaced Somalis have flocked to clinics and hospitals with their ill family members. In Banadir Hospital alone, there were 136 cases of AWD last week. The increase in patients has pushed the hospital over its capacity.
The unclean water and lack of sanitation have been complicated by the recent drought that has stricken the country. Thousands of Somalis have migrated to Mogadishu in search of food and water, but in some areas of the city the water there is not safe to drink there either.
There have been some unconfirmed reports of cholera, but these reports were found to be erroneous. Cholera has not been confirmed in Mogadishu at this time; however Acute Water Diarrhea has been spreading. Hospitals have been reporting a rise in admissions of children with AWD.
Other parts of Somalia are also reporting a rise in cases of AWD. In addition to the 32 deaths in Mogadishu, three more deaths from AWD were reported in Middle Shabelle Province, north of the city. Five more children died from diarrhea at Hawa Abdi Hospital, outside the capital. Two other diarrhea related deaths were reported in Bakool Province.
Although this totals 42 diarrhea related deaths reported in Somalia, the number of AWD deaths is believed to be higher. This is because many children who suffer from AWD in remote regions, are often unable to make the journey to a hospital. When they succumb to the disease, their deaths often go unreported.
In nearby Afgooye, Saajid Hospital reported a 25% increase in AWD cases in the first half of March. The Afgooye Corridor is a heavily populated camp full of displaced Somalis, where 300,000 people live in squalid conditions. Many who live there do not have access to clean water, or to adequate sanitation.
*This is an updated version of a story that first appeared on March 28, 2011.