Health crisis looms in Kenyan chaos

Published on Saturday 5 January 2008 19:28

KENYA will face a health emergency within days if the wave of political violence there is not halted, a UK-based charity warned last night.

With an estimated 180,000 people forced from their homes and many more too scared to venture outside, supplies of food and clean water in the east African country are running "dangerously low", sparking fears of health risks from diarrhoea, infection and dehydration, said medical aid charity Merlin.

The warning came as hopes of an end to the politically inspired violence in Kenya rose when President Mwai Kibaki said he was ready to form a government of national unity.

A statement was released by Kibaki after he met the top US diplomat on Africa, Jendayi Frazer, following a wave of violence in which at least 350 people died after last weekend's disputed election.

But that optimism was dispelled when opposition leader Raila Odinga, whose supporters claim Kibaki rigged the election, later continued to insist that the president stand down and called for a new poll to be held.

It was announced last night that Ghanaian president John Kufuor, the chair of the African Union, will visit Kenya this week to attempt to break the country's political deadlock.

Wubeshet Woldermariam, Merlin's country director in Kenya, warned that political reconciliation must come quickly to avert a medical emergency.

He said: "Thousands of people are too scared to leave their homes due to the violence erupting outside. Seven days into the crisis, food and clean water supplies are now running dangerously low, especially in and around Kisumu.

"People are being forced to drink unsafe water. If peace isn't restored within the next few days, disease and severe dehydration are very real threats."