ADDIS ABABA, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Save the Children, a global charity organization, said Thursday that a cholera outbreak in Ethiopia's eastern Somali region has killed at least 23 people.
The charity said in a press release that a new cholera outbreak in the Somali region has resulted in 772 confirmed cases and 23 deaths in only two weeks.
"A deadly combination of flooded water systems, a lack of basic sanitation services and damaged water treatment plants has driven the spike in the deadly illness," the statement said.
The charity also disclosed that in the Kelafo district of the Somali region, its teams have reported a huge spike in cholera cases among children under five years of age, who account for nearly 80 percent of the confirmed cases.
Earlier this month, the United Nations World Food Program announced around 20 had been killed and 12,000 households displaced by heavy rains-induced flash floods in Ethiopia's Somali region.
Ethiopia and neighboring Kenya and Somalia are among the countries in the East Africa region predicted to experience heavy rains and flooding between October and December, affecting millions of people.
