A number of Jamam refugee camp residents from Sudan’s Blue Nile state have complained of polluted water and increasing levels of water-borne disease among children and vulnerable groups.
They also complained that too much chlorine has been added to the drinking water which has further affected the lives of refugees in the camp.
One woman at the camp in Upper Nile state, South Sudan noted that “We lack clean drinking water and food, so the issue is like the famine situation.”
The result, sources claimed, is that some refugees are forced to walk long distances in order to search for clean drinking water although this exposes women to the risk of violence outside the relative security of the camp.
All those who Radio Tamazuj spoke with urged the organizations working in water purification to improve the quality of and access to safe drinking water for the refugees.
Ongoing fighting between the Sudanese government and rebels in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states of Sudan has caused mass displacement and an influx of Sudanese refugees into camps along South Sudan’s side of the border.