Six people die of diarrhoea and several others recuperating in Buloburde town

An outbreak of acute diarrhoea in and around the town of Buloburdde town, Hiraan in central Somalia, has killed at least six people in the past three days, Medics and local officials said on Sunday.

Health workers in the town told Goobjoog News the outbreak could be a result of contaminated water from wells in the area.

“We suspect the outbreak could have been caused by contaminated water from wells in the area since some people have been using the water for drinking and other domestic purposes,” said a medical officer at Buloburde Hospital.

He said two of the five died in the last 3 days.

Buloburde Hospital, which has not functioned properly for years, is being used as a treatment centre for the town and surrounding villages, he said.

Several other people are reported to have fallen sick after drinking from a contaminated borehole in the area.

Buloburde mayor, Osma Elmi Ghedi  told Goobjoog News the victims came from pastoralist families who had fled from remote rural villages after they lost all their livestock to the ravaging drought in the region.

He added that pastoralists in the area were forced to drink from abandoned water wells as they could not afford to buy clean water.

“The impact of the  water shortage is very serious. It is forcing people and livestock to drink dirty water,” he noted.

He urged both local and international aid agencies, the Somali people and the federal government to immediately respond to the looming crisis in the region by providing water, food and medicine.

Rampant insecurity and attacks on aid workers have hampered the relief effort for the millions of Somalis affected by war, hunger and disease.