Hundreds of thousands face diseases in overcrowded White Nile state camps, says MSF
July 27, 2023 (RABAK) – As more people flee the conflict Sudan’s Blue Nile State into While Nile State, there is urgent need to scale up assistance in form of nutritional support and provision of shelter, food and clean water to curb an outbreak of diseases, a medical charity said in a statement on Thursday.
Medicins Sans Frontiers (MSF) said over 140,000 people, mostly South Sudanese women and children fleeing from Khartoum have arrived in White Nile state.
They are now facing huge unmet needs for food, shelter, healthcare, water and sanitation in 10 camps, which host around 387,000 people, local authorities said.
“Every day, more people arrive, and the numbers are increasing. In turn, this increases the need for improved health services, food and shelter,” says Ali Mohammed Dawoud, MSF medical activity manager.
In June, MSF said its teams started supporting three Ministry of Health clinics in providing general healthcare in Um Sangour and Al Alagaya refugee camps, as well as in Khor Ajwal, which hosts Sudanese displaced from the Blue Nile state.
According to MSF, Um Sangour, a camp meant to host about 30,000 people, now houses over 70,000 with huge and growing needs in overcrowded camps.
“The most common illnesses impacting the community here, especially children under the age of five, are suspected measles, pneumonia, and malnutrition,” said Ali, adding “The death toll was already high when we arrived. We received an average of 15 to 20 suspected measles cases daily, with six recorded deaths in the first week”
For several weeks, MSF has reportedly been advocating with the local health authorities to mobilise available measles vaccines, already in the country, to carry out a mass vaccination of children across Sudan’s White Nile State.
“At the same time, in order to scale up medical and relief activities, we need a significant increase of staff, including additional international specialists, as the teams working on the ground are already overstretched and exhausted,” stressed Ali.
Over 100,000 people are estimated to have already crossed the border from Sudan to South Sudan.
Majority of those fleeing the conflict in Sudan are South Sudanese who moved to Sudan before and after secession in 2011 to escape either turmoil in search of safety and security or persecution at the hands of armed groups in the conflict.
Fighting between the Sudanese army (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (SAF) has reportedly has killed over 3,000 civilians and displaced more than 3 million since April 15, amid reports that 25 million people need humanitarian aid and protection.
(ST)