Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) medical teams are reporting a dramatic increase in patients seeking treatment for common diseases inside the Malakal Protection of Civilians site. The group says it is a result of a lack of shelter and sanitation in the camps positioned within the United Nations base in the Upper Nile state capital.
This follows an influx of more than 19,000 displaced people to the camp in the past weeks.
“Many people arriving in Malakal camp have been displaced for weeks or months already with extremely limited access to food and medical care,” said Victor Escobar, the MSF project coordinator in Malakal. “The already-vulnerable people urgently need a sanitary place to live and access to medical care. Otherwise their health will continue to suffer.”
MSF reports that the number of people seeking treatment for basic diseases has doubled – and sometimes tripled – since June. The complaints include diarrhea and respiratory tract infections.
“These are extremely worrying trends,” Escobar said. “The vast majority of our patients are new arrivals, mostly women and children, who have endured a difficult and dangerous journey to reach the camp. They arrive in family groups of five to 10, with only what they can carry in their hands. Now, with the rapid influx of people into the camp, many have no choice but to sleep in streets, pathways and puddles.”
MSF is distributing plastic sheeting and mosquito nets as a temporary emergency measure, but called for an immediate improvement to the living conditions for people who have newly arrived.