Drought threat to people, livestock across Sudan

The Minister of Livestock, Prof. Mousa Tibin Mousa has acknowledged that poor rains have resulted in a shortage of pasture in the country, particularly in the states of the White Nile, North Kordofan and West Kordofan.

Prof Mousa said that a number of cattle have died in those states after eating toxic grasses. Describing the situation as “embarrassing”, he called for a remedial emergency plan to prevent the livestock from starving.

The displaced residents of camp Otash in Nyala have complained of difficult access to drinking water. A lack of fuel prevents the pump motors from working. One of the Sheikhs of the camp told Radio Dabanga that the national organisation WEST, which works in the water field in the camp, has specified one day a week for access to water, as they cannot provide fuel for water engines.

He said there is currently a spread of skin diseases among the displaced of the camp as they cannot bathe. The Sheikh has appealed to the authorities to find a solution to the problem.

The residents of Um Khairein village of El Radoom locality in South Darfur have complained of scarcity of drinking water and soaring prices in the water stations. A citizen of the village told Radio Dabanga pointed out that the only government water station in the village has decreased production, which makes people wait for long periods in order to get access to water.

He pointed out that the price of a barrel of water is now SDG10. He added that the citizens have refused the SDG20 fee imposed by the local authorities in order to buy a new engine. He appealed to the local and state authorities to intervene to resolve the problem “considering that it is the responsibility of the government and that they do not take water for free”.

Citizens of El Halfaya in Khartoum North have complained of water outages for two consecutive days. They complain that since Ramadan, they have had to queue until late at night for water.