Thousands of villages in Somalia's Juba Valley have been inundated with water. Photo © Karel Prinsloo, Associated Press

Heavy rains in the last few weeks have caused flooding of the Juba and Shebelle rivers in southern Somalia, bringing devastation to much of the riverside areas, and highly increasing the needs in one of the most densely populated regions in the country. Thousands of families have seen their homes destroyed and are now displaced. Bruno Jochum, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Director of Operations, describes the situation.

With the floods, what is the situation in the areas where MSF is working today?

In Beletweyne, located in Hiran region, flooding of the Shabelle river on November 9 lead to approximately 18,000 people to move from the east to the west side of the city. Families from surrounding areas keep arriving in Beletweyne, having lost all their belongings and livelihood. An MSF team, composed of four international staff, arrived in Beletweyne on November 18. The main priority today is water and sanitation. The team has begun to build 300 latrines for the newly displaced, to try to reduce to a minimum the risk of waterborne diseases such as cholera. MSF is providing medicines and medical material to existing health structures and has distributed non-food items such as jerrycans, blankets, and soap for 200 families, to complete what had already been distributed by local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). An international organization (ICRC) is now in charge of bringing clean water to the inhabitants.

MSF teams are assisting victims of the floods. Photo © Karel Prinsloo, Associated Press

In Marere, a small village along the Juba river, approximately 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Kismayo, MSF teams who have been working in the hospital and therapeutic feeding center, were able to respond quickly to the emergency but today more help is needed. The greatest need to address is the lack of drinking water. It is estimated that 70 percent of water sources are contaminated due to flooding. This brings a greater risk of water-borne infections. MSF has two patients with confirmed cases of cholera already under treatment in Jilib, and numerous suspected cases have been admitted. There is also an acute need for food supplies. Crops were destroyed in an area with chronic food shortages. Of critical concern to MSF is the challenge of bringing food to 750 severely malnourished children currently enrolled in our specialized feeding program and providing medical care to patients with severe diarrhea, who are now living in isolated pockets. Additionally there is a big need for shelter materials. Many families who have lost their homes are now living in the open, exposed to torrential rain, increasing the risk of respiratory infections and particularly of malaria. Most villages are only accessible by boat, and access to the population remains our main worry.

What is your main concern for this population?

Though the health situation of the population is satisfactory at this point, there are significant risks for diarrhea, linked to hygiene and access to clean water, and malaria as mosquitoes are proliferating in the flooded areas.

Unlike flood-affected populations in Ethiopia and Kenya, there is little media coverage of the situation of affected populations in Somalia, and few humanitarian organizations. While humanitarian aid is already scarce in Somalia, the continued flight ban imposed by Kenya on the country further impedes the arrival of assistance. Increased difficulties in accessing populations, from the flight ban to logistical aspects, must not prevent other humanitarian agencies from providing assistance now.