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“Desperate” health situation in Port Loko

    ABIDJAN

    The district medical officer for Port Loko, northeast of Freetown, has appealed for emergency health support for displaced people in his area, describing the situation there as “desperate”, the Sierra Leone News Agency, SLENA, reported on Wednesday.

    Dr Moses Kargbo made the appeal after a survey of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the region whom, he said, needed immediate attention. Apart from the problem of food and accommodation for the massive influx of people from Port Loko, and Lunsar and Makeni in the north, he said, there was now the imminent danger of an outbreak of communicable diseases. He added that safe drinking water was scarce and there were few toilet facilities in settlements inhabited by IDPs.

    Port Loko has been the scene of recent fighting between Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels and UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) and pro-government forces, causing the local population to flee the area.

    An NGO/UN food assessment of the Lungi area is ongoing, a UN humanitarian source reported.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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