AFRICA/SUDAN - Poor hygienic conditions and overcrowding promote diseases in refugee camps in north Darfur

Sortony (Agenzia Fides) - Water and sanitation services in the camps of northern Darfur are not able to cope with the needs of the newly displaced people fleeing the clashes in Jebel Marra.
According to the figures of the United Nations, over 100 thousand people have arrived this week alone. Due to the consequences of overcrowding and water insecurity, an epidemic of conjunctivitis is spreading among children, in particular the refugees in the camp in Kabkabiya, who have no drugs and medical care.
An activist told broadcaster Radio Dabanga that the infection appeared a week ago, there are no health facilities and people are forced to reach the local hospital of the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) to be treated. "Doctors are able to assist only 15 patients a day, including all the sick who reach the hospital" the source said.
In the UNAMID medical device in Sortony, in the south of the city of Kabkabiya, over 60,000 newly displaced from Jebel Marra continue to fall ill with the resulting proliferation of viruses and bacteria. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has reported that water supply remains the main challenge in Sortony. Currently, the total number of new refugees from Jebel Marra is 110.273, of whom about 95% have found shelter in refugee camps in North Darfur. 62.192 displaced persons are in Sortony. Other 36,000 have found refuge in the area of Tawila. Approximately 3000 in Kabkabiya. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 23/03/2016)

Share:

healthcare

---

---