UNITED NATIONS, July 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United Nations has allocated 1 million US dollars to help 340,000 people in areas affected by Rift Valley Fever in Burundi, a UN spokesman said.
Undersecretary-General Martin Griffiths, the UN emergency relief coordinator, released the funds for projects focused on controlling spread of the disease, primarily affecting livestock, said Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
“The loss of cattle for farmers could lead to people losing assets and sources of income, pushing entire families deeper into poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition,” Haq said. The money will go towards projects focused on controlling the spread of the disease and ensuring food security.
The livestock industry in Burundi accounts for 14 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, the spokesman told a regular briefing.
He also said this year’s 182-million-U.S.-dollar Burundi Humanitarian Response Plan is only 5.1 percent funded to assist 957,000 people urgently needing help.
“Roughly half of the people who we hope to reach live in areas where Rift Valley Fever is prevalent,” Haq said.
Rift Valley fever (RVF) is an acute viral hemorrhagic fever that is most commonly seen in domesticated animals (such as cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, and camels) and can also cause illness in people.
Although RVF often causes severe illness in animals, most people with RVF have either no symptoms or a mild illness with fever, weakness, back pain, and dizziness. However, a small percentage (8-10%) of people with RVF develop much more severe symptoms, including eye disease, hemorrhage (excessive bleeding), and encephalitis (swelling of the brain).
People can get RVF through contact with blood, body fluids, or tissues of infected animals, or through bites from infected mosquitoes. Spread from person to person has not been documented.– NNN-AGENCIES
