It took me a while to write this Editorial ... #WritersBlock! I wrote this for the #PowersThatBe - it's for the next edition of the newsletter. (PS: Most of these figures are not accurate, I just needed place holders.) Keep your eyes out for the newsletter!
12 million people are currently affected by prolonged drought and food shortages in the Horn of Africa. The worst drought in 60 years is sweeping across the region, and has sparked a food crisis in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda.
In this issue, we will see how the drought is affecting thousands, and how the Internationl Organztion for Migratn (IOM)is providing essential health care.
Our mobile medical rapid response teams are delivering much-needed basic health care to hard-to-reach populations in the world’s newest country, South Sudan. The country is emerging from years of conflict, and faces many health care challenges. More than 75 per cent of the population lack access to basic health care.
We shall discuss sex work and HIV in a cross-border setting along the Tanzanian-Kenya border. We will also examine how we are meeting the needs of vulnerable migrants in Somalia and the urgent scale-up needed for combined strategies to stop the spread of HIV.
In the last six months, IOM’s Health Division conducted over 800,000 health assessments across Africa and the Middle East, and provided health care for over 7,800 migrants in the Republic of Yemen. 12 health assessment centres have been established in Ethiopia, and 10,000 internally displaced persons in Zambia and Malawi have been reached via our mobile health teams.
Last year, IOM celebrated its 60th anniversary. It has been an unprecedented journey. Since our inception in 1951, we have grown to become the leading international agency working with governments and civil society in the field of migration. From our offices around the world, we seek to advance orderly and humane migration.
But this progress is still overshadowed by today’s realities. One area which requires global attention is scaling up equitable access to migrant-friendly HIV services for migrants and mobile populations. There are close to 200 million migrants around the world today. This is one in every 35 people.
Only through partnerships are we able to manage migration. This newsletter serves to highlight some of the ways IOM, and our partners, are making a difference.
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Region: Kenya, Horn of Africa
Theme(s): Migration, Health, Drought
The author is a health communications consultant. Follow her on Twitter [@msanyuosire] & keep tabs on tips she shares with health communications officers by "liking" my facebook page [Mary-Sanyu Osire].
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