Beginning in May, tens of thousands of people were forcibly displaced to Mile 91 and its environs from the towns of Makeni, Magburuka and other surrounding villages. The steady influx of people has resulted in a health crisis because access for aid workers and supplies has been restricted by the extreme insecurity in the area. One of the indicators of the health crisis is the large caseload of over 9.000 people in the first two weeks of July monitored in just two health clinics. MSF has seen a rise in the number of patients with bloody diarrhoea, many of whom are severely dehydrated. Five of the 10 samples tested are Shigella type 1, which is the most contagious form of diarrhoea and can lead to epidemics.
Malnutrition is a serious problem.
A feeding center run by another international aid organisation has, in the last two weeks, received 500 malnurished children and another 170 who are severely malnourished. Interviews with mothers revealed that the children had become malnourished since arriving in Mile 91. MSF research has established that most of the recently displaced people fled because of attacks by government helicopter gunships on their home areas. Atrocities committed by the rebel Revolutionary United Front have also continued to terrorise large numbers of people. Security in Mile 91 remains a major constraint and concern.