NAIROBI, 23 December 2008 (IRIN) - Dozens of people have died in central Somalia's Galgadud region after an outbreak of acute watery diarrhoea (AWD), medical personnel said on 23 December.

The worst-affected area is in and around the town of Balambale.

"In a 30-day period, 16 people have been confirmed to have died in the town; 12 were children under five," Mahamud Mohamed Isturaye, the district medical coordinator, said.

So far, Isturaye said, 139 cases of AWD had been registered in Balambale, adding: "These are the ones who made it here. We are getting reports of people dying in the outlying villages, but unfortunately we cannot reach them."

He said AWD had broken out after heavy rains, which contaminated water in wells and barkads (water catchments).

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) had provided oral rehydration salts (ORS), he added. "So far we have enough stocks of ORS to deal with the situation."

Isturaye said they had also had reports that some people had died in surrounding villages. "We are getting reports from seven villages around the town but we don't have the figures."

Hassan Farah Jama, a community leader, told IRIN of his concerns: "We have no means to reach these villagers and they are the ones who are suffering more."

Lack of facilities

Jama said the only medical facility in the town was a small maternal healthcare centre and "it is not able to take care of community needs". There was a hospital building in the town but it was not in use. "We need assistance in equipping the building."

Isturaye said children with AWD slept alongside healthy ones, potentially spreading the disease, due to a lack of facilities.

He said medical workers had urged people to keep their children away from contaminated water and to separate the sick from the healthy.

"Unfortunately, we do not have chlorine to put in the water points, especially the barkads," he said.

Local health officials were trying to reach "as many people as we can to inform them on how to fight the spread of the disease".

Jama appealed for immediate help, calling on international aid agencies to open bases in Balambale. "This is a safe town and they will be welcomed," he added.

However, a local journalist, who requested anonymity, told IRIN there were no international agencies operating in Galgadud region as a whole, due to insecurity.

"There is not a single agency here and it is largely due to insecurity."

He said a number of aid workers had been abducted in the area. It was also not clear "who is really in control", he added.

ah/mw

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