Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is witnessing a deteriorating humanitarian situation around the town of Wardher, in the Somali Region of eastern Ethiopia. Internally displaced people (IDPs) are gathering in the thousands on the town’s outskirts, in search of food and water. An estimated eight to ten thousand people are currently living in squalid conditions — under makeshift shelters, with limited access to water and no sanitation, and surrounded by the carcasses of dead animals.

In response, MSF is providing medical care to both IDPs and local residents at its clinic in Wardher town. These services are extended to the surrounding communities through mobile clinics. Activities include a nutritional program to treat malnourished children under five years of age, incorporating in-patient care for severe cases.

Further, MSF is working closely with non-governmental organizations and government bodies to assess the situation, in order to respond to the growing needs of people in the area. Preparations are underway to improve access to drinking water and sanitation, vaccinate against measles, and raise health awareness through community health workers recruited from within the camps.

Many of the IDPs, traditionally nomadic people, say that in the areas they usually inhabit there is currently not enough food or water to survive. Further, many report the deaths of large numbers of livestock, on which they depend for food and livelihood. This year’s drought seems to have worsened conditions for these vulnerable people, already suffering due to protracted conflict and minimal resources.

MSF provides primary healthcare in two locations in the Somali Region of Ethiopia - Degahbur and Wardher town. The organization continues to run emergency nutritional interventions and healthcare projects throughout the country.