A number of refugees from Doro refugee camp in South Sudan’s Maban County have complained of increasing levels of disease amidst poor sanitation and health care conditions at the camp.
A number of residents who spoke to Radio Tamazuj said that the accumulation of solid and liquid waste at the camp had contributed to the widespread breeding of flies. There have reportedly been outbreaks of diarrhoea and viral infections.
One of the camp’s staff members said that the health conditions got worse after a group of volunteers stopped helping in health and sanitation when the organizations failed to allocate incentives for them.
A refugee at the camp explained the impact of the volunteers’ departure on the health of the residents.
“What happened at Doro camp here was the spread of flies and the reason is that when the volunteers who were working in the field of health for nine months demanded some incentives, organizations refused claiming that they are not able to pay these health workers. The health workers stopped working and these things became very dirty, including toilets as children defecating outside have contributed to the spread of flies. The volunteers who were working were 35 in number and they request for insecticide. Until now they haven’t bought anything so these files have caused a lot of disease including diarrhoea…and there are even cases of yellow fever in Doro…”
Doro camp in South Sudan’s Upper Nile state is currently home to a vast swathe of refugees fleeing civil conflict in Blue Nile state. Upper Nile state’s refugee camps have repeatedly suffered from outbreaks of disease amidst accusations of poor healthcare provision and facilities.
Photo by Olivier Chassot/ UNAMID
Related:
Yellow fever cases increase in Upper Nile refugee camps (30 December 2012)
Hepatitis spreads in Blue Nile refugee camps (14 November 2012)