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Deadly diseases such as measles, tetanus and whooping cough are on the rise in Ethiopia’s Tigray region after vaccination rates plummeted during the civil war that erupted nearly two years ago, doctors and local health officials say. I’m here.
The proportion of Tigray children receiving routine vaccinations has fallen below 10% this year.Zeconversion rate.
In a letter to Gavi, the global vaccine alliance, earlier this month, the agency said that “any hope that children in the region would grow up to be healthier and happier has been dashed in the blink of an eye.”
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The letter, seen by Reuters, attributed the drop in vaccines to what it called a “siege” of the Tigray by Ethiopian federal forces, power outages that disrupted the vaccine cold chain, and supply shortages caused by rural people’s inability to reach them. I blamed health facility.
A United Nations panel of experts on human rights said on Monday that a ceasefire between Tiglayan and federal forces had allowed limited medical assistance, but that humanitarian access had been disrupted since fighting resumed.
In a report, experts said they had reasonable grounds to believe that federal authorities’ denial of access to medical and other assistance amounted to crimes against humanity.
Ethiopian government spokesperson Legesse Tulu, military spokesman Colonel Getnet Adane and prime minister’s spokesman Billene Seyoum did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the UN report.
The government has repeatedly denied blocking aid and has blamed the Tigre People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the party that heads the local government, for the conflict that has killed thousands of civilians.
measles epidemic
Health Minister Lia Tadesse said the vaccine has been delivered to Tigray this year and is ready to deliver more if the situation permits.
In a letter, the Tigray Health Department said the proportion of children receiving all three doses of the pentavalent vaccine against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib) increased from 99.3% in 2020. It will drop to 36% in 2020. In 2021, this year he is 7%.
According to data from UNICEF, the United Nations children’s agency, in 2021 the overall rate for Ethiopia was 65%.
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The letter says the percentage of children vaccinated against tuberculosis and measles has also plummeted from more than 90% in 2020 to less than 10% this year.
Since the war began, 10 of the region’s 35 districts have had measles outbreaks, with 25 cases of neonatal tetanus this year.
“Vaccines are provided free of charge throughout Ethiopia, but not for children in Tiglaya,” said Fasika Amdesrasieh, a surgeon at Aida Referral Hospital who has treated children with measles and whooping cough. said.
Gavi, which buys and distributes vaccines to developing countries, said it had provided measles and COVID-19 vaccines during the ceasefire, but some activities had been suspended since fighting resumed.
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Ethiopia’s Health Minister Ria said 860,000 doses of measles vaccine had been delivered to Tigray last December, with a booster delivery on 2 April.
In a statement to Reuters, Lia said another scheduled delivery was put on hold due to instructions from the United Nations World Food Program to coordinate deliveries of humanitarian supplies to Tigray.
But WFP spokesperson Claire Neville said the agency is waiting for permission from the Ethiopian government.
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“Without these clearances, deliveries of life-saving humanitarian aid such as food, nutrition and medical supplies would have to be put on hold,” she said.