Somalia - IOM and its partners in Somalia’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) cluster, have distributed hygiene kits to 1,696 households in Doolow, a dusty border town sandwiched between Somalia and Ethiopia. Doolow is a major destination for internally displaced persons (IDPs) fleeing conflict.

Each hygiene kit included a bucket, a jerry can, a bar of soap and water purification tablets. The distribution followed an assessment done by the Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit that revealed a significant deterioration in the nutrition situation among IDPs in Doolow, Dhobley, Bossaso, Gaalkacyo and Bulo Burto. This was partly due to hygiene-related health problems.

One in every ten Somali children currently dies before the age of one. Acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) and malnutrition as a result of AWD are the major causes. In overcrowded IDP settlements, there is limited access to safe and clean water. The number of latrines is rarely sufficient and this often leads to open defecation and faecal contamination of nearby river and drinking water.

Deka Osman Hassan is a 72-year-old grandmother who has lived in Kabasa IDP settlement with her grandchildren for only 16 days. She said that she had moved from Dinsor due to insecurity and the threat of starvation.

“We risked being caught in the military and rebel cross-fire and were scared. We fled from our homes and travelled a long journey on foot, carrying only as much weight as our backs could take,” she said.

Halima Abdullahi Sheik is a 39-year-old mother, who now lives at Kabasa IDP settlement with her five children. They also fled Dinsor, walking in scorching heat for nine days. She also moved because of insecurity, hunger and drought, which had led to the death of all her livestock.

“We arrived at Doolow IDP settlement and found that they did not have a sufficient number of water storage containers, they had an insufficient supply of safe and clean water, and they had broken sanitation facilities. But thanks to the hygiene kits we have been given today, we now have access to safe and clean water, jerry cans to store it in and water treatment tablets,” she said.

Hygiene promotion was an integral part of the distribution of the hygiene kits. IOM and its partners shared information on the use of the water treatment tablets, cleaning of water storage containers, hand washing at critical times, food hygiene, and proper use of sanitation facilities.

Abdiqani Abdullahi Abayle, the Kabasa IDP Section 5 leader who helped to coordinate the distribution said: “We are overwhelmed by the growing number of IDPs in this already over-stretched settlement. The primary source of water for this community is the river, and as result of contamination, many people, including children and mothers, are getting sick. This provision of hygiene kits is timely. But I would request donors to double their efforts, because as long as there are military operations around Doolow, we will continue to receive displaced families."

“This is a humanitarian emergency, and one that could quickly escalate into a catastrophe, if we do not move fast enough to respond. Improving hygiene is critical to save lives and contain disease outbreaks in these congested IDP settlements,” said Gerard Waite, IOM Somalia Chief of Mission.

For more information, please contact Omar Khayre at IOM Somalia, Tel: +254 708 985 812, Email: okhayre@iom.int