Waterborne Diseases Surge Among Vanuatu Children After Cyclone
After Cyclones Judy and Kevin spread devastation and flooding across the islands of Vanuatu in the southwest Pacific, water-borne diseases are escalating among children in the capital, Port Vila, and in rural communities.
Hospitals and health facilities are struggling to cope with the surge in cases as they continue to repair the damage caused to their facilities by the storms.
“Prior to the cyclone, we were experiencing a surge of acute gastroenteritis. That was two weeks prior to the cyclone. After the cyclone, the numbers just shot up and increased. Initially, one-third of the children’s ward was full with acute gastroenteritis patients but that has increased to 50 percent of the ward bed capacity,” head of paediatrics in Vanuatu Dr Thyna and chairwoman of Port Vila Central Hospital’s emergency operating centre,said.
The ward, which has beds for 22 children aged 13 and under, is now accommodating up to 30 sick young children at any time. As more patients arrive every day, hospital management has been asked for extra space, Dr Thyna added.
The children’s wards at the hospital suffered serious damage during the disasters. “We had flooding inside the children’s ward and it wasn’t safe for the children. In the neonatal intensive care unit, the roof was blown away, so we had to move the babies away to somewhere safe. That, in itself, is a challenge with all the traumatising effect on the parents and families,” Dr Thyna said.
Cyclones Judy and Kevin, which hit Vanuatu at the beginning of March, affected 80 percent of the Pacific island nation’s population of more than 320,000 people, including 125,500 children, according to Vanuatu’s National Disaster Management Office.
On Efate island, where the capital is located, widespread damage and destruction of homes forced many people into temporary shelters and evacuation centres. Communities were left without electricity and clean water after the storms, heightening their exposure to food and water-borne illnesses.
It was evident that “it was becoming more difficult for families to access fresh water as the electricity wasn’t working in many parts and is still not working in all parts of Efate Island. The pumping of water to homes was not reliable and drinkable water and water for household use is not universally available for everyone,” Save the Children’s acting Country Director in Vanuatu,Jack French told report.
The international children’s non-government organisation is helping with emergency response, aid distribution and recovery on the island.
In Erakor village, on Efate’s south coast, electricity and the piped water supply to the local health dispensary have been restored but staff are working to contain disease outbreaks under challenging conditions.The health clinic serves about 12,000 people living in surrounding communities.
The nurse-in-charge, Berry, said that in children, “acute respiratory infections have increased along with skin infections and gastroenteritis. The cases of gastroenteritis are mainly due to people eating foods that have not been washed and hygiene practices which have dropped. Some children are suffering from multiple infections.”
He added they were also facing a shortage of some medicines. “We have run out of zinc tablets, which are used to treat gastroenteritis. The central medical store in the country has also run out of the tablets, so we are waiting for new supplies.”
Aljazeera/Oyenike Oyeniyi
