Addis Herald
  • Home
  • History
  • Africa
  • Travel
  • Music
  • Culture
  • Art

Culture

  • calanderEthiopia: A truly unique African country
  • passionfruit-istanbul-croppedPassionfruit’s Globe-Trotting DJ Mixes Tell Stories Through Disco
  • Ethiopia-HighlandsThe most breathtaking geography in Ethiopia
  • Christmas in Lalibela‘Genna’: Christ’s birthday anniversary, an indispensable part of Ethiopian culture
  • the weekendThe Weeknd’s Next Album Will Be Inspired By BLM Movement, COVID-19 Pandemic

Business

  • siemensEthiopia Signs Deal To Build Phase 1 of $440 Million Assela Wind Farm Project
  • EthiopiaCan agriculture be Ethiopia’s growth engine?
  • Orange-Digital-VenturesGIZ and Orange launch an Orange Digital Center in Ethiopia, the 3rd in Africa and the Middle East region
  • 31342IMF and Ethiopia agree framework for loan deal reviews
  • 11-2-696x446Ethiopian Coffee History: From Chewing to Brewing

Africa

  • jad20210225-culture-nefertiti-akhenaton-592x296-1614265493-e1614766131609Ancient Egypt’s Queen Nefertiti & King Akhenaten finally in a photo
  • 20140208_MAP001_0Africa’s manufacturing puzzle: Evidence from Tanzanian and Ethiopian firms
  • battle of adwa woriorThe Victory of Adwa: A Fresh Perspective
  • shutterstock_pricing-317799113ECA Price Watch points to construction sector as key driver of growth
  • africa-s-pulse-april-2018-780x439China’s poverty alleviation model instructive for Africa: expert
Eritrean refugee children walk within Mai-Aini refugee camp near the Eritrean boarder in the Tigrai region in Ethiopia
June 11, 2020

Ethiopia Races to Stave Off Coronavirus in Refugee Camps

VOA, by Simon MarkS

Tens of thousands of refugees from Eritrea are at risk of contracting the coronavirus after the first case was found in one of Ethiopia’s largest refugee camps. Experts and humanitarian workers say conditions in four northern camps holding approximately 100,000 Eritrean refugees are ideal for the virus to spread with people living close to each other in confined spaces. 

Authorities in Ethiopia are racing to improve health facilities and water levels at the country’s 26 refugee camps after the government confirmed that a 16-year-old girl from Eritrea had tested positive for the coronavirus last week.  

The patient has since been transferred to a government hospital where she is in stable condition, said Ann Encontre, country representative for the U.N. refugee agency in Ethiopia.   

The girl lives in the Adi-Harush camp, which houses about 33,000 people. Samples from two more suspected cases from the camp, located in the Tigray region, are currently under examination at a government laboratory. 

Map of Adi-Harush Camp, Ethiopia

Ethiopia’s Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs (ARRA) has worked with the U.N. to increase the amount of water at camp sites in the Tigray region to an average of 15 liters per person per day, closer to the necessary 21 liters the U.N. recommends. 

Encontre told VOA via a messaging app that containing the spread of the virus will be a challenge considering the living conditions at refugee camps. 

“It’s really tight accommodation, tight normal social and cultural practices. So, in all honesty we are fairly confident we have done our best but we have to continue our efforts. We cannot let our hands down now,” she said. “We really have to keep the standards…and brainwash basically that this has to be more than ever important to daily living. But the sheer numbers will be a challenge. Some of our camps are 80,000 and above.”  

Encontre also said there was a big risk of new cases from Eritrea. 

“Ethiopia continues to be a welcoming country to asylum seekers and people running to save their lives for safety and security. And we do have people who are coming across the borders there. The borders are porous,” she said.  

Ethiopia has recorded more than 2,500 COVID-19 cases and 35 deaths since the first case was confirmed on March 13, although most of those have emerged in the last two weeks. COVID-19 is the disease caused by the coronavirus. 

In January, the government stopped granting automatic asylum to Eritreans in an effort to reduce what it deemed to be a “high influx of unaccompanied minors, illegal migrants and others who do not fulfill the criteria laid [out] for refugee status.” Aid groups have said the policy will force Eritreans wishing to flee their homeland to take the dangerous northern route, toward Libya and Europe.  

Dan Connell, a visiting researcher at Boston University and an expert on Eritrean refugees, says Ethiopia also changed its policy toward Eritrean refugees in January by issuing more residency permits for refugees to leave the camps. 

“They went into the camps and they offered out of camp permits to anyone who wanted it. I was told while I was there in February by ARRA that some 5,000 people had accepted it within the first three weeks that it was offered,”  he said.

Eritrean refugee children play within Hitsats refugee camp, during the visit of the Crown Prince of Norway, Haakon Magnus and…
FILE – Eritrean refugee children play within Hitsats refugee camp, during the visit of the Crown Prince of Norway, Haakon Magnus and Crown Princess Mette Marit near Eritrean boarder, Tigrai region, Ethiopia, Nov. 9, 2017.

The policy is designed to reduce the size of the camps so authorities can eventually close a camp known as Hitsats, which holds around 13,000 people, has less amenities than the other three camps in Tigray and is located in an area with high levels of malaria. 

“Once you get the virus moving within those camps, the problem gets compounded by the fact that there are many people on the camps distrusting the authorities, and not checking in when they do get sick,”  said  Connell.

Connell also said there was no way to social distance inside many camps and that there are still “significant numbers” of people coming from Eritrea who are not being counted by the government or U.N.  

Source VOA

Helios Towers Ltd set aside $450 million for Africa expansion plan. Why Biodiversity Matters to Your Daily Cup of Coffee: Preserving the Birthplace of Wild Arabica Coffee in Ethiopia’s Highlands

Related Posts

siemens

Business, Headlines

Ethiopia Signs Deal To Build Phase 1 of $440 Million Assela Wind Farm Project

Throne-11

Headlines

The Forces of Evil Arrayed Against Ethiopia

Orange-Digital-Ventures

Business, Headlines

GIZ and Orange launch an Orange Digital Center in Ethiopia, the 3rd in Africa and the Middle East region

Industrial Parks Development | Ethiopia |

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-vSnVQfBoo

Africa

  • jad20210225-culture-nefertiti-akhenaton-592x296-1614265493-e1614766131609Ancient Egypt’s Queen Nefertiti & King Akhenaten finally in a photo
  • 20140208_MAP001_0Africa’s manufacturing puzzle: Evidence from Tanzanian and Ethiopian firms
  • battle of adwa woriorThe Victory of Adwa: A Fresh Perspective
  • shutterstock_pricing-317799113ECA Price Watch points to construction sector as key driver of growth
  • africa-s-pulse-april-2018-780x439China’s poverty alleviation model instructive for Africa: expert

Travel

  • Homage to Entoto Park How the Old “Town in the Forest” is turning into a newly flowering tourist hubHomage to Entoto Park How the Old “Town in the Forest” is turning into a newly flowering tourist hub
  • 00ddd3-724x483This Is What It’s Like Trekking the Hottest Place on Earth
  • Screenshot_20200106-034619_GalleryExtreme Ethiopia in pictures
  • Addis-skyline-768x402Enigmatic Ethiopia: Africa’s (still) hidden jewel in the crown?
  • 929-1024x524-488x250Ethiopia’s Tourism sector is on the rise

Culture

  • calanderEthiopia: A truly unique African country
  • passionfruit-istanbul-croppedPassionfruit’s Globe-Trotting DJ Mixes Tell Stories Through Disco
  • Ethiopia-HighlandsThe most breathtaking geography in Ethiopia
  • Christmas in Lalibela‘Genna’: Christ’s birthday anniversary, an indispensable part of Ethiopian culture
  • the weekendThe Weeknd’s Next Album Will Be Inspired By BLM Movement, COVID-19 Pandemic

Business

  • siemensEthiopia Signs Deal To Build Phase 1 of $440 Million Assela Wind Farm Project
  • EthiopiaCan agriculture be Ethiopia’s growth engine?
  • Orange-Digital-VenturesGIZ and Orange launch an Orange Digital Center in Ethiopia, the 3rd in Africa and the Middle East region
  • 31342IMF and Ethiopia agree framework for loan deal reviews
  • 11-2-696x446Ethiopian Coffee History: From Chewing to Brewing

RSS Allfrica.com News feed

  • Africa: Covid-19 Pandemic Sparked Year of Rights Crises
  • Africa: Meet Seven Women Saving the Planet
  • Africa: Over 4 Million Vaccinated Against Covid-19 Across Continent
  • Africa: Online Scammers Rake in Millions From Sale of Covid-19 'Vaccines'
  • Africa: Africa's Urban Risk and Resilience!
  • Africa: Why Community Engagement is Critical in Fight Against Malaria
  • Africa: Key Actors Commit to Smart Nutrition, Ensuring Faster Progress to Ending Malnutrition
  • Africa: Humanitarian Needs Grow in Tigray Region
  • Africa: Why Some Africans Are Wary of the Covid-19 Vaccine
  • Africa: Covid Restrictions Chipping Away At Civil Liberties
  • Abijitta-Shalla National Park
  • Alatish Ethiopian National Park
  • Awash National Park
  • Babille Elephant Sanctuary
  • Bahir Dar Blue Nile Millennium Park
  • Bale National Park; Ethiopia’s lesser-known Treasure
  • Bale Mountains National Park
  • Borena-Sayint National Park
  • Chebera Churchura National Park
  • Dati Wolel National park
  • Gambella National Park
  • Gambella National Park 2
  • Kafta-Sheraro National Park
  • Mago National Park
  • Maze National Park
  • Nechisar National Park, Ethiopia
  • Omo National Park 
  • The Semien Mountains
  • Yabello National Park
  • Yangudi Rassa National Park
© Addis Herald 2021
  • Contact us
en English
af Afrikaansam Amharicar Arabiczh-CN Chinese (Simplified)en Englishfr Frenchde Germanel Greekhi Hindiit Italianja Japaneseko Koreanla Latinru Russianes Spanishsu Sudanesesw Swahilisv Swedish