Malnutrition, Measles, Mortality, and the Humanitarian Response During a Famine in Ethiopia

PUBLIC HEALTH RECOMMENDAtions for complex emergencies, based on important studies conducted in refugee camps, are now codified in guidelines and minimum standards for humanitarian interventions. Programs derived from these recommendations, such as mass measles vaccination campaigns, provision of water and sanitation facilities, and food aid, are now systematically implemented in refugee camps during the acute phase of an emergency. In refugee camps, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has traditionally taken the responsibility for overseeing surveillance systems for mortality and nutrition, for ensuring such data are used in designing programs, as well as for coordinating programs in the health and nutrition sectors. During famines or other complex emergencies involving internally displaced persons, surveillance systems may be more difficult to implement, programs may not be based on adequate data, and a lead agency for coordination may be lacking. Public health