- An outbreak of cholera in Yokobi, southwest of the Djibouti capital, has killed five people and affected at least 40 more, who are under medical investigation, the Djibouti health ministry said.
Health minister Abdallah Abdillahi Miguil said the disease had been confirmed in Yokobi, a village near the Ethiopian border, about 170 km from Djibouti city. "A task-force was urgently sent to the area," the minister said in a statement. He called for improved hygiene in the affected area, boiling drinking water and restricting the movement of the affected people to Yokobi to avoid further spread.
The head of hygiene and epidemiology in the ministry, Amar Abdo Ahmed, said the initial suspicion had been that the disease was linked to recent rains in the region. "We first thought that it was seasonal and limited only to children," he said. "But many of the deaths were of adults."
Over the weekend, the government sent the military to help those affected and ensure that movement is restricted within the region. Djibouti has a population of about 600,000, more than two-thirds of whom live in the capital, Djibouti City.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
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