Changes to A&E put back over safety concerns
EAST AFRICA is on the brink of famine after years of drought and conflict that has left 16m people facing the threat of starvation, aid experts fear.
As politicians and officials from the United Nations gather in London to discuss security reforms in Somalia and the growing humanitarian crisis, the wider region teeters on the edge of a disaster the likes of which the world has not witnessed for six years.
Famine has already gripped South Sudan, with hunger killing many there and in Somalia.
And with a national emergency declared in Kenya and fears of a new wave of drought in Ethiopia, there is a race against time to stop famine spreading.
Aid agencies say the threat of starvation is unprecedented, with millions at risk and a very real concern that tens – perhaps hundreds – of thousands could die.
Saleh Saeed, chief executive of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), an umbrella group of British charities, believes it is “touch and go” whether Somalia falls into famine.
He said: “There are 2.9m people in Somalia who are food insecure and 6.2m people, half the population, are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
“These are people who do not know where their next meal is coming from.
“That 2.9m is part of 16m who are food-insecure across the east Africa region, so the situation is touch and go at the moment.”
Famine was declared in parts of South Sudan in February.
Before that, the last time there was famine anywhere in the world was in Somalia in 2011, when 260,000 people died, mostly women and children.
Mr Saeed believes the two areas most at risk are South Sudan and Somalia, where a huge humanitarian effort has been mobilised to distribute food, water and medical supplies .
He said: “When you start to see tens of thousands, if not millions of people, affected by famine, where parents can’t afford to buy food for themselves, let alone their children, then we’re ultimately talking about people losing their lives in a situation that doesn’t need to happen.”
The crisis has largely been caused by drought. Somalia has had less than half its normal rainfall for almost three years.
Prolonged dry periods have killed crops and livestock, forcing half a million people to leave their homes and roam the country in search of food and water.
Charities, many funded by British taxpayers, are stepping in to help.
In Somaliland, a self-governed independent state north of Somalia, Action Aid is working to reach almost 15,000 of the most vulnerable people in some of the worstaffected regions.
In the village of Gumar, not far from the border with Ethiopia, Action Aid workers distribute food parcels that will last people a month or more.
For many, the aid deliveries are the difference between life and death.
To help the DEC East Africa Crisis Appeal, visit www.dec. org.uk or call 0370 60 60 610; to support Action Aid, go to www. actionaid.org.uk. SAFETY FEARS forced NHS bosses to delay a controversial shakeup of A&E services and reduce the number of hospital beds they were planning to close.
Dewsbury’s emergency department will be turned into an urgent care centre in September – a move NHS campaigners say is a downgrade of the town’s hospital – after the move was first planned for this spring.
Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust will also keep about 130 more beds than planned at its three busy hospitals.
The shake-up was approved in 2014 by health secretary Jeremy Hunt, despite fears over patients having too far to travel to hospital. It was based on reducing the number of people turning up at A&E and needing hospital admission – but demand has been instead rising.
A report to NHS bosses on changes to the hospital plans said: “Demand and occupancy rates have consistently been higher than predicted in our original planning. This reflects the challenges facing health systems across the country.”
Under the A&E changes, the most serious emergencies will be sent to a centralised unit at Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield. People with more minor injuries will be treated at Dewsbury.
NHS campaigners claim it amounts to a downgrade of Dewsbury hospital.
But health bosses have insisted the A&E move is the safest way of getting patients to the right care as quickly as possible.
They have also pointed out that x-rays, scans and blood tests will continue to be available at Dewsbury, Pinderfields and Pontefract hospitals.