At least four children and a woman have died in a diarrhoea outbreak in Maagay village, about 20 km from Jowhar, according to medical officials and residents. Another 50 people are suffering from diarrhoeal illness in the village, which does not have a health centre.
Maagay village chief, Mohamud Abad, told Radio Ergo’s local reporter that most of the infected people were children and some elderly patients. Diarrhoea outbreaks have also been reported from several other villages surrounding Jowhar, the regional capital of Middle Shabelle, over the past week. These villages include Jarirow, Shan and Qalimo, on the banks of the Shabelle River.
The outbreak is thought to be directly linked to the poor sanitation and hygiene conditions in villages following the river floods. Inter-Sos, an NGO running the region’s largest hospital in Jowhar, has sent a medical team with drugs to the villages, according to our reporter.
