UN agencies concerned with possible disease outbreak

TWO international organisations have warned about the high potential of waterborne and vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks in the earthquake-affected areas.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) say the major health concerns, especially for children, included diarrhoea due to water contamination from landslides, poor sanitation and personal hygiene management.
Vaccine-preventable diseases can be caused by the low immunisation coverage in the Highlands region.
The Health Department estimates that between 70 and 80 per cent of children in the affected provinces are not protected against preventable diseases.
Routine measles coverage in Southern Highlands and Hela in 2016 was just 18.2 per cent and 27.6 per cent respectively.
“At this stage of the emergency response, it is critical to restore the delivery of basic health services to the affected communities, such as immunisation of children,” WHO representative in PNG Dr Luo Dapeng said.
“We will continue to work with the Health Department, provincial health authorities and partners to respond to these risks and to prevent a secondary emergency arising from disease outbreaks.”
Unicef representative Karen Allen said the current situation experienced by children and families “is a perfect situation for disease outbreaks”.
“We are really worried because the majority of children in the affected areas already have low immunity,” Allen said.
“And now, as they are living in the crowded shelters with poor hygiene conditions, inadequate clean water and little knowledge to protect themselves, children are becoming much more vulnerable to diseases, including vaccine-preventable and water-borne diseases.”
The 7.5 magnitude earthquake in February and its aftershocks caused severe damage to 65 per cent of health facilities in Hela and Southern Highland.
About 13 per cent of health facilities remain closed. However, most of the health facilities being re-opened can only attend to emergency services.
The Government estimates that 270,000 people are in need of urgent assistance. About 125,000 of them are children – 55,000 under five years old.
UnicefF and WHO are supporting the Government by conducting a measles and rubella immunisation campaign for children under five in the earthquake-hit areas in order to curb the risk of potential outbreaks.