Drought situation potentially catastrophic

A multi-agency assessment mission to three of five drought-affected districts in Djibouti has concluded that the current situation affecting the country at large has "the potential to turn into a catastrophe", even considering the fact that drought is endemic in Djibouti, a situation report from UN OCHA stated on Tuesday. The mission estimated that 80,000 people were in need of humanitarian relief, of which 30,000 required immediate assistance. The Ministry of Health has registered 10,000 malnourished children, 3,000 of them severely malnourished in Djibouti district alone, and the mission confirmed malnutrition among children in other districts. The absence of regular vaccination campaigns in health centres visited had also had noticeable effects on the overall health status of the population, it added.