7,000 East Darfuris in need of drinking water, basic services

The more than 7,000 residents of Mazroub, north of Adila in East Darfur, are suffering from a lack of basic services. One of the citizens reported to Radio Dabanga that there is no doctor in the area. The sick have to seek refuge with a health worker of the “Military Petrol Guard Unit”. “We also do not have enough access to drinking water. We now drink from the rainwater collected during the rainy season. Last Friday we were lucky, when a company brought us water in tankers.” The citizen complained that the schools in the area are closed due to the absence of fixed time schedules and teachers. “In the nearby area of Dereiga, between 700 and 800 pupils are lacking regular schooling. The teachers, of whom many are living far away, come and go, because of their salaries are not paid.” Via Radio Dabanga the citizen sent a message to “the central government and civil society organisations” saying that the situation is deteriorating and that the people of Mazroub are in urgent need of humanitarian aid. File photo: Water point in Turba, near El Fasher, in North Darfur (Albert Gonzalez Farran Unamid)