GENEVA / SOMALIA HORN OF AFRICA

The UN Refugee agency (UNHCR) warned Tuesday that the plight of Somali refugees arriving at camps in Ethiopia is dire. Meanwhile UNICEF and partners have distributed emergency supplies to thousands of families in Somalia who have been displaced by the devastating drought. CH UNTV / UNICEF

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:02:00
• Production Date: 19 July 2011
• Asset Language: Original
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN'S FUND - UNICEF
• Subject Topical: HUMANITARIAN RELIEF; REFUGEES; DISPLACED PERSONS; DISASTER PREVENTION; DISASTER PREPAREDNESS; DISASTER RELIEF
• Geographic Subject: SOMALIA
• MAMS Id: U110719b

Description

STORY: GENEVA / SOMALIA HORN OF AFRICA
TRT: 2.00
SOURCE: CH UNTV / UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 19 JULY 2011, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / 13 JULY 2011, HODAN DISTRICT, MOGADISHU, SOMALIA

Shotlist

19 JULY 2011, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

1. Wide shot, exterior Palais des nations in Geneva
2. Cutaway, Press Room III
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Paul Spiegel, Chief of Section, Public Health, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees:
“The mortality rate in June was extremely high it was 7.4 deaths per 10,000 people per day, and to put that into perspective base line for sub Saharan Africa is 0.5 an emergency is generally declared at a greater than or equal to one death so its fifteen times the base line and the preponderance of the deaths are amongst under 5 children.”
4. Cutaway, Press Room III
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Paul Spiegel, Chief of Section, Public Health, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees:
“The Global Acute malnutrition rate is over 50 per cent but we are concentrating on the severe acute malnutrition rate which was in the month of June 26.8 per cent those are extremely rare and very high findings.”
6. Cutaway, journalist
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Adrian Edwards, Spokesperson, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees:
“Let’s be very clear the situation we have for humanitarian workers inside Somalia at the moment is not what we want it to be. We’re working through local partners there and yes we do have a very minimal presence and have regular visits into the country. But we need significantly better access than we have at the moment to address an emergency of this scale.”
8. Cutaway, journalists

13 JULY 2011, HODAN DISTRICT, MOGADISHU, SOMALIA

9. Wide shot, IDP camp with recent arrivals from the south
10. Wide shot, mother and child in IDP camp with their laundry
11. Med shot, three young children
12. Various shots, UNICEF relief supplies
13. Various shots, IDPs receiving supplies

Storyline

The plight of Somali refugees arriving at camps in Ethiopia is dire, the UN Refugee agency (UNHCR) warned Tuesday (19 July).

The mortality rate in June reached 7.4 deaths per 10,000 a day, sharply above the sub-Saharan baseline rate of 0.5 and the emergency situation of above one death.

"It's 15 times the baseline and the preponderance of the deaths are among under-five children," said Paul Spiegel, UNHCR's chief of public health section.

"The situation in Dolo Ado is very dire," added Spiegel, referring to the Ethiopian refugee camp where thousands of Somali refugees have sought shelter in recent weeks.

A famine is generally declared when mortality rate reaches over two deaths per 10,000 people per day, and when wasting of above 30 percent occurs across an entire region, according to UN criteria.

The severe acute malnutrition rate reached 26.8 percent in June, while the baseline rate should be below 1.0 percent.

The UN had earlier warned that ten million people in the Horn of Africa have been hit by the worst drought in 60 years. A poor rainy season coupled with rising food prices have led to severe food shortages in countries including Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda.