ICRC Kenya: Surgeons dissect lessons from post-election violence

Source: International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

Date: 19 May 2008

Kenya: Surgeons dissect lessons from post-election violence

Following Kenya’s December 2007 general elections, hospital staff had to face a massive, and unexpected, influx of victims of violence. Now, during a series of ICRC-organized workshops geared at peace-time emergencies, they are discussing the lessons learned. The ICRC’s Iolanda Jaquemet reports.

“Even if the patient has his bowels hanging out, it does not necessarily mean this is the most urgent case on hand, as long as he is in stable condition.” The 20 members of the audience listened attentively to Dr Mauro Dalla Torre, the ICRC surgeon, as he illustrated the principles of triage.

Later, they looked with calm, clinical interest at a picture showing a little boy with horrendous leg wounds, used by Dr Dalla Torre to illustrate “the high energy transfer” caused by a bullet.

The participants’ poise was not surprising: they were surgeons, nurses and clinical officers from five hospitals in Nyanza province, Western Kenya. During two days in April, they swapped experiences at an ICRC-organized workshop on “emergency preparedness and treatment of wounds due to violence”.

Catholic Relief Services – Clean camps improve health in Kenya

Date: 29 Apr 2008

Clean camps improve health in Kenya

CRS continues to respond to the post-election crisis in Kenya. Recently, staff from CRS and the Catholic Diocese of Eldoret trained 18 volunteers to serve as hygiene promoters in camps in the Eldoret area of western Kenya. One volunteer, Milka Nyambura Kariuki, lives with 2,000 other displaced people in the Burnt Forest camp. Here she shares how she is working with other volunteers to teach residents about improving camp sanitation and personal hygiene:

Volunteer hygiene promoter Milka Nyambura Kariuki is helping her fellow residents improve sanitation in the camp they are living in after being displaced by the post-election violence in Kenya. Photo by Gilbert Namwonja/CRS

Kenya: Complex Emergency Fact Sheet #12 (FY 2008)

Date: 23 Apr 2008

BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA)
OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)

Note: The last fact sheet was dated April 9, 2008.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

– The April 13 announcement of the formation of a coalition cabinet has led to a reduction in tensions in areas of Kenya affected by the post-election crisis. However, USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team (USAID/DART) staff caution that the overall security situation remains tenuous.

– On April 14, the U.N. and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) launched a revised appeal for $189 million targeting internally displaced persons (IDPs) and other populations impacted by Kenya’s post-election violence, as well as families potentially affected by drought. The revised appeal supplements the original $41.9 million Kenya Emergency Humanitarian Response Plan announced on January 16 to assist 500,000 people affected by the postelection violence.

– On April 10, USAID/OFDA airlifted 300 rolls of plastic sheeting from USAID/OFDA’s Dubai warehouse to Eldoret town, Rift Valley Province, to upgrade existing camp shelter resources in response to protracted displacement needs compounded by the onset of the March rains. The emergency relief commodities, valued at more than $165,000 including transport, will improve shelter conditions for approximately 50,000 beneficiaries.

– The USAID/DART continues to conduct field assessments throughout affected regions of central and western Kenya, engage with U.N. and partner relief agencies to identify evolving humanitarian needs, and facilitate coordination and information sharing regarding response and early recovery efforts.

NUMBERS AT A GLANCE		SOURCE
Conflict-Affected Population at Risk of Poverty(1)	2,000,000	The World Bank – January 18, 2008
Estimated IDPs in camps and centers	157,585	KRCS(2) – April 16, 2008
Estimated IDPs within host communities	196,000	NDOC(3) – March 26, 2008
Deaths(4)	1,020	NDOC – April 8, 2008
Kenyan Refugees in Uganda	2,000	UNHCR(5) – April 18, 2008

FY 2008 HUMANITARIAN FUNDING PROVIDED TO DATE

USAID/OFDA Assistance to Kenya: $6,222,429
USAID/FFP(6) Assistance to Kenya: $39,719,000
State/PRM(7) Assistance to Kenya: $10,843,105
Total USAID and State Humanitarian Assistance to Kenya: $56,784,534

CURRENT SITUATION