CJTF-HOA Commander Visits Devastated Area of Ethiopia
Navy NewsStand
Story Number: NNS060821-07
Release Date: 8/21/2006 3:30:00 PM
By Chief Mass Communication Specialist (DV) Robert Palomares, Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa Public Affairs
DIRE DAWA, Ethiopia (NNS) -- Rear Adm. Richard Hunt, Commander, Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) met with Dire Dawa Mayor Abdul Aziz Aug. 20 after surveying the area hit by the Aug. 6 flood, which displaced approximately 6,000 people.
Navy Seabees from CJTF-HOA and soldiers from the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) have been working together to assemble more than 60 tents supplied by the United States, which are expected to temporarily house more than 2,500 people. They also have set up sanitation facilities around the camp.
Aziz said his government is preparing plans to rebuild housing in the region.
“We will move them from the temporary housing in the tents in about three months,” Aziz said.
Additionally, CJTF-HOA is sending a medical team this week to the area to help with the influx of people requiring medical assistance. The Ethiopian government also is providing medical care, as well as food and clothing to the flood victims.
“Everything is going well, and we thank you very much for your help,” Aziz told the admiral. “We are definitely working well together.”
Hunt agreed that plans and progress with the tents and sanitation facilities are remarkable.
“The cooperation between the Ethiopian government, the NGOs [nongovernmental organizations], and the United States -- the combination of effort from USAID [United States Agency for International Development] and CJTF-HOA -- has been extremely successful,” said Hunt.
“We’ve been able to provide the Ethiopian government everything they’ve asked for, and we’re standing by to provide additional help if needed,” Hunt continued.
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