Ethiopia rebel stronghold hit by measles outbreak

Since there is limited access to hospitals, residents in rural western Ethiopia claim that children have been dying from a measles outbreak over the previous few months.

Roadblocks put up as a result of the region's continuous violence, according to those who spoke with the BBC, have impeded mobility.

The Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) rebels' base in western Oromia has been the target of a brutal conflict that the federal government has been waging.

Measles and malaria outbreaks have been reported in the area, notably in drought-stricken areas, according to health official Dereje Abdena, who spoke to the BBC.

The officials claimed that they were attempting to contact those who were impacted.

"We recently buried two kids who passed away from measles. "Medics have fled the region," a Kondala district resident in the West Wollega zone reported.

Measles can result in serious sickness and is extremely contagious. Sometimes it can even be fatal.

According to a recent UN study, hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced as a result of hostilities, and the humanitarian situation in the western Oromia area "remains difficult."

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) of the United Nations stated that it is still difficult to provide resources, access, and security to the impacted population.