Waterborne diseases increase among Vanuatu children after cyclones

Port Vila, Vanuatu – One month after Cyclones Judy and Kevin wreaked devastation and flooding on the islands of Vanuatu in the south-west Pacific, waterborne diseases are increasing among children in the capital, Port Vila, and in rural communities.

Hospitals and healthcare facilities are struggling to cope with rising cases while continuing to repair storm damage to their facilities.

“Before the cyclone, we were experiencing a wave of acute gastroenteritis. That was two weeks before the cyclone. After the cyclone, the numbers skyrocketed and increased. Initially, a third of the children’s ward was filled with acute gastroenteritis patients, but that has increased to 50 per cent of the ward’s bed capacity,” said Dr. Orelly Thyna, head of pediatrics in Vanuatu and president of the emergency operations center of the Port Vila Central Hospital. Al Jazeera.

The ward, which has beds for 22 children under the age of 13, now accommodates 30 sick young children at any one time. As more patients arrive each day, hospital management has been asked for additional space, added Dr. Thyna.

The hospital’s children’s wards were severely damaged during the disasters. “We had flooding inside the children’s room and it was not safe for children. In the neonatal intensive care unit, the roof was blown off, so we had to move the babies to a safe place. That, in itself, is a challenge with all the traumatic effect for parents and families,” said Dr. Thyna.

cyclones judy and kevinthat struck Vanuatu in early March, affected 80 percent of the Pacific island nation’s population of more than 320,000 people, including 125,500 children, according to Vanuatu’s National Disaster Management Office.

On the island of Efate, where the capital is located, widespread damage and destruction of homes forced many people to take refuge in temporary shelters and evacuation centers. Communities were left without electricity and clean water after the storms, increasing their exposure to food and waterborne illnesses.

It was evident that “it was becoming more difficult for families to access fresh water as electricity was not working in many parts and still is not working in all parts of the island of Efate. The pumping of water to homes was unreliable and drinking water and water for domestic use is not universally available to all,” Jack French, Acting Country Director for Save the Children in Vanuatu, told Al Jazeera. The international children’s non-governmental organization is assisting with the emergency response, aid distribution and recovery on the island.

In the village of Erakor, on the southern coast of Efate, electricity and running water have been restored to the local health dispensary, but staff are working to contain disease outbreaks under difficult conditions. The health clinic serves some 12,000 people who live in the surrounding communities.

Berry, the charge nurse, told Al Jazeera that in children, “acute respiratory infections have increased along with skin infections and gastroenteritis. Cases of gastroenteritis are mainly due to people eating food that has not been washed and hygiene practices that have decreased. Some children suffer from multiple infections.”

He added that they were also facing shortages of some medicines. “We have run out of zinc tablets, which are used to treat gastroenteritis. The country’s central medicine warehouse also ran out of tablets, so we are waiting for new supplies.”

subsistence farming

Vanuatu has made significant progress in reducing the under-five mortality rate, which stands at 23 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared to a global average of 38 per 1,000, according to the World Bank. However, diarrhea remains a major cause of death in young children around the world, including in the Pacific islands, reports UNICEF.

In one of the villages in the Erakor area, Rebecca told Al Jazeera that shortages of water, food and shelter were affecting her life and that of her family, which includes seven grandchildren, the youngest just two years old.

In the village, 200 people live in 150 houses, of which 55 need repair or reconstruction. Rebecca’s house consisted of two buildings, but one has been destroyed. She is staying in a partially built shelter with 10 other displaced locals.

“We are sharing a rainwater tank with another family. Garden crops were destroyed. Some of the bananas survived, but they are gone now, so we will have to find the money to buy food,” the 53-year-old told Al Jazeera. “And the children have skin infections and diarrhea.”

Vanuatu is highly exposed to extreme weather and climate disasters. The World Health Organization has already warned of the health risks linked to climate change. Cases of diarrheal diseases in particular tend to increase with drought and extreme rainfall.

Disasters are also affecting the resources people need to access health services. “Vanuatu is a subsistence agricultural society and the money earned from the agriculture that is sold is spent on transport, getting the children to school and paying for travel to the health clinic. So with the destruction of many home gardens and local farms, the inability (of families) to sell agricultural surpluses will have an impact on health,” French said.

National recovery from the recent cyclones is expected to take several years. The recovery of the health of children in the country will require monitoring, say local experts.

French said that resuming school was key to supporting children’s resilience. Regular monitoring of the babies’ health is also a priority, added Sherold Sakita, Save the Children’s Early Childhood coordinator.

“In terms of early childhood development, there is a challenge in that not all children attend the maternal and child health clinic and we have identified children who have not received their vaccinations,” said Sakita.

The Ministry of Health hopes to launch a school health screening program so that a wide range of potential developing health problems can be identified early, Dr. Thyna said. “It is a practical way to capture problems that parents may overlook or, for some reason, do not take their children (to health centers).”