DATE=2/9/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=UNICEF / ANGOLA REFUGEES (L ONLY)
NUMBER=2-258975
BYLINE=LISA SCHLEIN
DATELINE=GENEVA
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The United Nations is pushing this week to
vaccinate nearly three-thousand Angolan children in a
refugee camp in western Zambia. Lisa Schlein in
Geneva reports UNICEF says conditions in the camp in
Sinjembela are ripe for an outbreak of disease.
TEXT: UNICEF is working with two Zambian government
mobile health teams to immunize 28-hundred children
under age five against basic childhood diseases. The
total refugee population in Sinjembela is more than
eight-thousand.
Lyn Geldof of UNICEF says this large number of
unvaccinated children poses a great danger.
/// GELDOF ACT ONE ///
These child refugees who have crossed over have
not managed to be immunized by Angola because of
the instability in the regions during the
national immunization days of last year. So,
there is a big push to get these children
immunized. As you know, the crowded conditions
in the camps are very conducive to outbreaks of
measles.
/// END ACT ///
Sinjembela is in a remote, insecure border area. The
U-N refugee agency is relocating the Angolan refugees
to safer, more accessible camps. But officials say
the operation is hampered by bad road conditions. The
refugee agency says it may take several months before
it can move the eight-thousand to 10-thousand refugees
out of the danger zone.
In the meantime, agencies like UNICEF are trying to
keep health problems under control. Ms. Geldof says
sanitary conditions in the camp are bad, and the
refugees are drinking unclean water. As a
consequence, she says there has been a significant
increase in diarrheal disease.
/// GELDOF ACT TWO ///
The main conditions of course -- under the
circumstances with the floods and everything --
are malaria, diarrheal disease, skin diseases,
and respiratory tract infections. There have
been two confirmed cases of leprosy.
/// END ACT ///
UNICEF is providing thousands of packets of oral
rehydration salts to diarrheal victims. It also is
distributing anti-biotic drugs. Ms. Geldof says
UNICEF is afraid the situation will get worse before
it gets better. (SIGNED)
NEB/LS/JWH/RAE
09-Feb-2000 08:30 AM EDT (09-Feb-2000 1330 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
