Merlin ready to respond to post-election violence in Kenya

The medical charity Merlin has surgeons on standby in case the Kenyan elections become violent.

There are concerns that up to 350,000 to 450,000 people will flee their homes as a result of pre and post-election unrest.

Up to 45,000 people across the country could require surgery or emergency medical attention.

For Nairobi alone, it is estimated that the number of casualties could be as high as 5,000.

Merlin is on hand to support the Kenyan Ministry of Health to treat injuries and provide primary healthcare should violence escalate. Contingency measures have been put in place including having British surgeons ready to be deployed.

Displacement often leads to people living in informal settlements with poor housing, sanitation and a lack of clean water and health services. Merlin is concerned that the unrest could also put thousands at risk of disease outbreaks such as cholera, malaria, and measles.

Paula Sansom, Merlin’s Head of Region for East Africa, said: “We hope that Kenyans voting in this crucial election will be able to do so safely and without fear. However, we do need to support the Ministry of Health to be prepared for the worst.”

In the aftermath of the 2007 general election in Kenya, there were approximately 1,300 deaths and more than 300,000 people were displaced. Merlin is one of the charities that supported the Kenyan Ministry of Health to provide health services to displaced populations.

In addition to the headline-hitting numbers of death and displacement, health services stalled at a time when need was at a peak. Health workers were among the displaced and 246 fled their homes and places of work in the Rift Valley alone, including 20 doctors and 106 nurses. Five facilities were completely vandalised, 22 health facilities closed down and 23 were only partially functioning across the Rift Valley.

This led to the proportion of fully immunised children falling from 80% to 60% and clinics struggling with essential drugs and vaccines being in short supply. Patients on treatment for chronic diseases such as HIV/AIDS and TB were left particularly vulnerable.

ENDS

Notes to editors

Merlin, a UK-based international NGO has worked in Kenya since 1998. Our work focuses on nutrition, maternal health, HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria control in Turkana and Nyanza provinces. Merlin has scaled up in times of emergency including the East Africa food crisis and 2007/2008 post-election crisis, when we provided primary healthcare and psychosocial support to IDPs.