The conflict in Ethiopia’s Oromia region has severely escalated malaria fatalities, with 7.3 million cases and over 1,157 deaths reported in 2023. Healthcare disruption from the conflict and climate change has created a severe malaria epidemic. A U.S. funding cut has further complicated efforts to combat the disease, leaving families like Lema Tefera’s struggling to survive in the midst of profound grief and loss.
The conflict plaguing Ethiopia’s Oromia region is contributing to a severe increase in malaria-related fatalities. Lema Tefera, a subsistence farmer, tragically lost four children to the disease within one month, attributing this calamity to the absence of malaria treatment in his village due to ongoing violence. The World Health Organization indicates that Africa accounts for approximately 95% of the global malaria cases, with over 600,000 deaths annually, emphasizing the gravity of the situation in regions like Oromia, which has faced sustained turmoil since 2018.
Healthcare services in Oromia have been profoundly disrupted as government forces clash with the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA). This conflict has created a crisis where malaria fatalities are spiking alarmingly. The WHO reports 7.3 million malaria cases and 1,157 deaths in Ethiopia from January to October 2023, highlighting a dramatic increase in cases attributed to the war, especially in Oromia, which represents nearly half of the total cases.
The region’s healthcare infrastructure has reportedly collapsed, as noted by Gemechu Biftu, the executive director of the Oromia Physicians Association, who stated, “Programmed supplies of anti-malarial drugs have been disrupted due to the armed conflict.” With no end in sight to the violence, the humanitarian crisis intensifies, and peace talks in Tanzania in 2023 yielded no progress as the Ethiopian government classified the OLA as a terrorist organization.
Hospitals are inundated with malaria cases, and Legesse Bulcha, the director of Nejo General Hospital, reported that malaria now constitutes 70% of treated patients in 2023-2024, indicative of a distressing rise from previous percentages. Concurrently, climate change is exacerbating the crisis, as rising temperatures allow malaria-carrying mosquitoes to flourish, leading to a concerning spread of malaria even during traditionally dry seasons.
Doctors Without Borders’ medical coordinator, Rachelle Seguin, expressed alarm at the unprecedented malaria cases reported in 2024 due to the ongoing conflict and climatic changes. She cautioned that the upcoming rainy season might worsen the situation. Further compounding these challenges is a recent funding cut from U.S. aid, which has historically supported a significant portion of malaria control efforts in the region.
Lema Tefera, amidst this calamity and facing overwhelming grief over the loss of his children, now struggles to sustain his family as he is unable to farm. He has expressed his despair and trauma, saying, “I have been completely depressed. I have not been able to recover from the grief.”
The situation in Oromia, Ethiopia, serves as a tragic example of how conflict and environmental changes can compound health crises. The dramatic rise in malaria cases and fatalities underscores a failing healthcare system amidst ongoing violence and disrupted aid. Without immediate intervention and support, the humanitarian disaster will likely worsen, impacting countless families already devastated by loss.
Original Source: newscentral.africa
