Sudanese displaced persons residing at Ibrahim Mahmoud School Shelter Center in Kassala city of Kassala State have complained of severe shortage of medicines and drinking water.
Kassala city, hosting nearly one million internally displaced persons distributed across more than eighty shelter centres, is experiencing a severe shortage of drinking water.
Neighbourhoods like Al Maraba’at, Al Khatmiyah, and Al Thawrah are witnessing a complete halt in drinking water supply for three consecutive days.
Gisma Hammad, a supervisor at Ibrahim Mahmoud School Shelter Center, told Radio Tamazuj on Wednesday that the centre received a large number of displaced persons from Khartoum and Wad Madani, adding that they are working towards the stability of the displaced persons.
She added, “We face significant challenges, including drinking water and medical treatment. There is also an outbreak of fevers in the centre.”
Hammad called on international and regional organizations to intervene urgently and solve water and medicine shortages.
Jalila Khamis Kuku, a displaced person at the centre, emphasized that the urgent challenges in the centre include water shortages and the absence of a water network. Water is transported by tankers, she added.
Kuku explained that there was a contract by Plan International to transport water to the centre, but the contract ended, leading to the suffering of families searching for water transport by cart. She described this situation as difficult, especially during Ramadan.
“There are more than five water tanks, but they are empty, and there is no entity to provide water at the centre. There are no containers for families to store water,” she said.
Kuku clarified that the centre accommodates 268 individuals, leading to significant water consumption. She said the compounding situation had forced some families to buy their own water, but the centre lacks water storage containers.
Meanwhile, displaced person Nahid Omar pointed out that water scarcity remained the greatest challenge at the camp.
She appealed to aid agencies to provide ceiling fans to cushion them from the hot weather in Kassala city.
Sudan has been mired by fighting between the army, led by Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since last April 2023. At least 13,900 people have since been killed and more than 8 million displaced, according to UN figures. The war has also created a hunger crisis with millions in need of aid.