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'North an Emergency Out of Hand' - MSF

The Monitor (Kampala)
NEWS
November 9, 2004
Posted to the web November 8, 2004

By Peter Nyanzi
Kampala
The mortality rate in northern Uganda is an 'emergency out of control' the
International Medical Relief Organisation, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has
said.
"Surveys conducted by MSF in October in six internally displaced people's camps
(IDPs) in Lira and Pader districts found a Crude Mortality Rate (CMR) of 2.8
deaths per 10,000 people per day for the general population.
"According to the internationally agreed benchmarks, a rate of more than 2 per
10.000 people a day is classed as an emergency out of control," Ms Monica de
Castellarnau, head of mission for the France based MSF, said in a press
release.
She said, the mortality rate was more alarming among children under five years
of age at 5.4 deaths out of 10,000 children a day, with the rate as high as
10.5 deaths per 10,000 children a day in one location.
"The extent of suffering is overwhelming, and the situation remains critical
and requires urgent action from the international community and aid
organisations," she said.
The statement said the findings of the surveys support the recent statements by
United Nations Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, Jan Egeland,
who referred to the crisis in northern Uganda as the "largest neglected
humanitarian emergency.

   

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