A local non-governmental organization has urged the United Nations to support South Sudanese refugees in Uganda in the wake of the novel coronavirus.
There are worries about the new coronavirus spreading in close quarters where social distancing is nearly impossible.
On Wednesday, Uganda registered one new case of COVID-19 raising the national tally to 53.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj last week, Stephen Wandu, the executive director of I Can, a local NGO operating in Bidibidi refugee camp in Uganda, appealed to the United Nations and the host government to provide soap, hand sanitizers and send medical teams to educate citizens on ways of preventing the spread of the pandemic.
The camp currently hosts thousands of South Sudanese refugees.
“There are no hospitals inside the refugee camp and we only have one ambulance. Also, there are no medical cadres and in the camp. We are now afraid and do not know what to do should the virus spread here,” Wandu explained.
He said letters were sent to humanitarian organizations and the government to find urgent solutions to the crisis, but nothing has been done so far.
Wandu further said NGOs should be funded to carry out these tasks.