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Transcript/ScriptUSAGM SHARE
((PLAYBOOK SLUG: ETHIOPIA DROUGHT AFAR WATER (TV)
HEADLINE: Ethiopia’s Drought Forces Afar Residents to Use Dirty Water
TEASER:
PUBLISHED AT: 06/21/2022 at 5:32 pm
BYLINE: HALIMA ATHUMANI
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Semera, Ethiopia
VIDEOGRAPHER: Yidnkeachew Lemma
VIDEO EDITOR: Yidnkeachew Lemma
PRODUCER:
SCRIPT EDITORS: Schearf, MAS
VIDEO SOURCE (S): All VOA
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _x_ RADIO x__
TRT: 2:48
VID APPROVED BY: mia
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES:))
((INTRO))
[[As Ethiopia reels from the worst drought in the Horn of Africa in decades, residents of the northern Afar region are being forced to use dirty river water. Officials and aid groups can only provide water trucks when possible, leaving locals with few options. Halima Athumani reports from Afar region, Ethiopia.]]
((VIDEO-VOA: RIVER AWASH TRIBUTARY, WOMAN WALKING WITH WATER BOTTLES, WOMAN WASHING FACE, WASHING CLOTHES, ALI))
((NARRATOR))
This dirty stream stems from Ethiopia’s Awash River, a lifeline for locals and their main water source for bathing, washing, cooking, and drinking.
Ethiopia is reeling from the worst drought to hit the Horn of Africa in 40 years and the northern Afar region is no exception.
Clean water is a luxury they cannot afford, says Semera resident Aisha Ali.
((Aisha Ali, Semera Resident (Afar, 26 secs))
“My children suffer from skin diseases and are always ill because the water we use is not clean. Some children even die because of this unsafe water.”
((VIDEO-VOA: HAMIDAH AT HOME, WALKING TO COLLECT WATER, HAMIDAH))
((NARRATOR))
Khadijah Hamidah lives next to the river and says her children also suffer illness and disease because of the dirty water.
((Khadija Hamida, Semera Resident, (Afar, 10 secs))
“This is the only choice we have. All our children and families use this water.”
((VIDEO-VOA: DUBTI HOSPITAL, DR MUHAMMED))
((NARRATOR))
But it’s not just villagers struggling with a lack of clean water.
Dubti hospital, the only functional hospital in Afar, is overwhelmed with patients.
Acting Head Dr. Yusuf Muhammad says they are also suffering from the water shortage.
((Dr. Yusuf Muhammed, Head of Dubti Hospital (English, 29 secs))
“Sometimes we may not get the water. Sometimes some of the elective surgery cases are stopped or postponed due to lack of water. Surgical site infections are there because there’s no adequate water. Patient attendants are using rainwater. There is a nearby river, they is river water, which is not safe and not clean.”
((VIDEO-VOA: AWASH TRIBUTARY, FATUMA HAISSEMA))
((NARRATOR))
The Afar region’s water bureau says it is struggling to address the water shortage.
((Fatuma Haissema, Afar Water and Energy Office (Afar, 28 secs))
“We have dug many boreholes, but we couldn't utilize them because of a shortage of fluoride. The fluoride level (in the boreholes) was below the WHO standard, and we were forced to close the wells. The cost of filtering the water is high and beyond the capacity of our office.”
((VIDEO-VOA: WOMEN AT A CLEAN WATER POINT, WATER TRUCK, FATIMA OMAR))
((NARRATOR))
Relief comes when clean water is trucked-in by aid groups and the regional government.
((Fatuma Omar, Afar Resident, (Afar, 22 secs))
“Previously we would buy water and carry it from the city center. One jerrycan costs about 40 cents (20 birr). It was expensive and tiring. But now, we get clean water, so this is good for us.”
((VIDEO-VOA: WATER TRUCK, CHILDREN FETCHING WATER, WOMEN FETCHING WATER))
((NARRATOR))
But the relief is only temporary as the truck quickly runs dry and people have to wait for the next one or are forced to risk using water from the river.
((Halima Athumani, for VOA News, Semera, Ethiopia.))
NewsML Media TopicsHealth
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateJune 21, 2022 17:48 EDT
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
