Attachments
SITUATION IN NUMBERS
400,000 Total People in Need
190,400 Total Children in Need
155,924 Total population in drought/flood affected areas
70,000 Children in drought/flood affected areas
8,500 Estimated number of children 6-59 months affected by severe and moderate acute malnutrition
6% Prevalence of wasting among children underfive
UNICEF Appeal 2018 US$ 1.66 million
Highlights
• In 2018, there was an outbreak of Hepatitis E with more than 4,009 confirmed and suspected cases and 34 deaths. The outbreak is protracted and most cases are detected in informal settlements.
• Seasonal floods affected the northern region of Namibia between January and April, affecting approximately 27,000 learners due to the flooding of schools.
• Between May and July, there were 70 confirmed cases of Influenza A H1N1 with two deaths; 40 per cent of confirmed cases were children under five.
• There have been two confirmed cases and one suspected case of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF).
Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs
FLOODS
Flooding during the rainy season (January-April 2018) in the north affected 27,000 students from 102 schools in Omusati, Oshana, Ohangwena and Zambezi regions.
HEPATITIS E OUTBREAK
Following the outbreak of Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) in September 2017 in Windhoek (declared by the Ministry of Health and Social Services on 14 December 2017), the disease spread to eight out of 14 regions around the country. The outbreak has become protracted and most of the cases are detected in areas where access to water, sanitation and hygiene are limited.
Most cases are reported to have come from the informal settlements of Havana and Goreangab in Windhoek and the Democratic Resettlement Community (DRC) in Swakopmund. As of 2 December 2018 (epidemiological week 48), a cumulative total number of 4,009 cases were reported with 530 laboratory-confirmed and 2,840 epidemiologically-linked . Of those, 227 cases were pregnant women. A total of 34 deaths (case fatality rate of 0.8 per cent) have been reported, indicating an acceptable quality of care, however, 16 (47 per cent) of total HEV deaths were pregnant or post-partum women.
Maternal deaths constitute seven per cent of the total pregnant women who reported to clinics with HEV infection . Ninety-eight children, aged 0-10 years, were affected, representing 2.5 per cent of all cases.
According to an assessment conducted by Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) in the affected areas, up to 68 per cent of households defecate in the open. In order to stop the outbreak, there is a need to intensify response activities, especially social mobilization and WASH and community surveillance to ensure the community understands the disease, improves hygiene and sanitation practices, and cases are detected and referred to health facilities for proper treatment and management of the outbreak.
Other outbreaks confirmed during the reporting period include two cases of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF), which were reported in February and April.All suspected cases and contacts of CCHF index cases were investigated and monitored for two weeks.
CCHF was contained promptly due to good collaboration by Government, UN and other partners. In addition, 70 cases of AH1N1 were reported in 2018 in seven regions with two deaths both children under-five year.