Reaching children in the Ethiopian desert

In the tiny hamlet of Lawonaje, in the Somali Region of Ethiopia, it is barely nine in the morning but the sun is already scorching.

Some 40 women and their children queue up in a shade by the local health care post, although it is just an empty shell and doesn't function. There is, in fact, no health care facility of any kind in the area.

The nearest formally trained health care provider is 35 kilometers away.

“That is too far,” says Rodha Ibrahim, a 30-year-old mother of four. “Besides that, the roads are poor and we have no vehicles.”

Thousands of people lack access to public services of any kind and many existing facilities are understaffed, struggling with insufficient medical supplies and water.

A relatively small percentage of Somalis are semi-nomadic, which means they remain stationary for a time cultivating crops, such as maize and sorghum. The vast majority of the population have become pastoralist, moving frequently in search of water for cattle - their chief asset.

When the population moves, their illnesses move with them.

“Families are moving a lot. This is one of the challenges and why it’s hard to get full health coverage,” says Idris Mohammed, a senior nurse and leader of the UNICEF-supported mobile team. For the second week in a row, Idris' team has provided health services to some 3,000 Lawonaje residents as well as to other surrounding villages.

The clinics are an instrumental part of UNICEF’s emergency response in the region and in neighboring Afar, where conditions are similar.

Mobile teams take services and supplies to children in need.

Mobile teams are trained to identify and tackle diseases such as malaria, diarrhoea and pneumonia, which disproportionately affect Somali children. In addition, health extension workers assigned to the teams have received specialised training in treating severe malnutrition.

Until the mobile team began operating in the Somali Region, nearly two months ago, most of its 80,000 residents had no access to health, nutrition, sanitation and hygiene care.

Rodha has brought along two-year-old Fatuma for treatment.

“I know that the people here can help him,” Rodha says, smiling. “Last week his eyes had turned pink. I brought him to the clinic, and now his eyes are fine.”

Her smile notwithstanding, Rodha cannot disguise the worried strain in her voice. For the last five days, Fatuma has had a high fever and has been suffering from diarrhoea.

After a brief examination, Fatuma is diagnosed with dysentery. Idris Mohamed, leader of the UNICEF-supported mobile team, hands Rodha a supply of liquid medicine and several oral rehydration packets. She examines the containers while Idris explains the dosage. Barring unforeseen complications, Fatuma should recover in a few days time.

“In only one week I’ve seen a great change in the village,” Rodha says. “And we have benefited a lot from the free medication.” But we need and are requesting more services in the future,” she adds.

Idris agrees, noting that the health teams themselves require additional support. “Even though roughly 90 per cent of the area is malaria prone, we are short on antimalarial drugs and water treatment chemicals,” he says. “Perhaps one day we will enter a non-emergency phase but at the moment, our needs are urgent,” he explains.

UNICEF is reaching millions of people.

In the Somali Region of Ethiopia, UNICEF is supporting a total of 20 teams serving 1.5 million people.

As more health facilities become operational, new locations that still lack public services will be targeted. The goal is to one day replace all mobile teams with functional, stationary health facilities within relatively easy reach of both mobile and non-mobile communities.

By Tezeta Tulloch