Malnutrition high in west Darfur town

NAIROBI, Oct. 13, 2003 (IRIN) — A rapid assessment conducted around the town of Mukjar in west Darfur found that almost 100 children under five years of age were severely malnourished, according to the NGO Medair.

Among some 900 children who were surveyed earlier this month, a further 502 were either moderately or mildly malnourished, the NGO reported.

In August at least 150 people were killed, and 225 injured, during a series of militia attacks in Wadi Sali province. Most of the displaced lost all their possession and livestock, as 89 villages were burned to the ground by Arab militas known as the Janjaweed. Almost 32,000 people fled to Mukjar, while the populations of 24 villages, who remain unaccounted for, are believed to have fled to neighbouring Chad.

The current death rate among the population around Mukjar was averaging seven per day, Medair reported. Three quarters were under five.

With no health facilities in the town, general health is continuing to deteriorate, principally due to malaria, diarrhoea, chest infections and eye diseases.

People were defecating around their living spaces, due to a lack of latrines in the area and the fear of going too far away because of possible militia attacks, the NGO reported. Out of nine hand pumps in the area, only two were working, forcing people to dig for water in a local river bed.

The UN believes that about 75,000 people from Darfur are scattered inside Chad along the border, while a further 300,000 people within Darfur have been displaced by attacks since August.