Water and sanitation crisis threatens people in Abyei: MSF

September 17, 2024 (ABYEI) – A water, sanitation and hygiene crisis is unfolding in Abyei Special Administrative Area, fueling the ongoing hepatitis E outbreak, a medical charity has warned.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said poor sanitation, severe water shortages, and inadequate infrastructure are exacerbating the spread of the virus through contaminated drinking water, placing thousands at risk, two months after health authorities declared a Hepatitis E outbreak.

Since July 2024, however, at least 41 Hepatitis E cases have been reported, resulting in six deaths.

This, MSF said, included five women, three of whom three were pregnant as well as one male.

The situation, according to the medical charity, has worsened due to the influx of over 22,000 people crossing the border into Abyei since the beginning of the conflict in neighboring Sudan.

The incessant movement of internally displaced people and refugees significantly increases the risk of Hepatitis E transmission in the region, while MSF has faced barriers to diagnose the disease due to a shortage of rapid detection tests, it stated,

“Currently, we have four patients in the isolation ward, but the situation is fluctuating, and we urgently need wash and sanitary infrastructures to prevent further deaths,” says Zélie Antier, MSF project coordinator in Abyei Special Administrative Area.

Since violent conflicts erupted in February 2022 in and around Agok, an estimated 70,000 people were displaced, with many seeking refuge in Abyei. The influx of displaced people has put an additional pressure on the limited services that were available for the already fragile communities, with over 85 per cent of people in need of humanitarian assistance.

In Amiet market, located about 14 km from Abyei town, more than 900 refugees, returnees from Sudan and internally displaced people reportedly live in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions.

More than half of the total Hepatitis E cases, MSF said, were people living in the Amiet market.

Sadly, with an estimated 20,000 people nearby and no available latrines, people are forced to practice open defecation, further contaminating water sources and worsening the virus’s spread.

Water scarcity has also worsened the situation. In Abyei town and Amiet market, for instance, a 20-liter jerry can of water costs 500 SSP (around 10 US cents) a price many families can’t afford.

Displaced families warned that rising inflation will soon make clean drinking water out of reach.

In one of Abyei’s secondary healthcare facilities, MSF said it had provided supportive care services for 41 patients for hepatitis E at Ameth Bek Hospital and increased health promotion activities targeting pregnant women and new mothers to raise awareness about disease prevention.

Meanwhile there are also concerns that as the ongoing rainy season continues to cause widespread flooding and threatens drinking water sources and drainage systems overflow, the risk of hepatitis E and other waterborne diseases such as cholera is at stake. Flooding, MSF said, is expected to worsen within the coming weeks with experts predicting extreme riverine flooding and flash floods.

MSF urgently call on international donors and aid organisations to scale up their efforts by improving sanitation and providing clean drinking water in Abyei Special Administrative Area.

(ST)