Floods, flies, fever and famine in Darfur camps

Reports of hardship, the spread of disease, shortages of food, clean drinking water, medical care and shelter continue to reach Radio Dabanga from the camps for the displaced throughout Darfur every day. Currently, the rainy season is adding to their challenges and increased demand during the holy month of Ramadan is reportedly raising prices beyond the reach of the impoverished displaced. The tenuous security situation in the region has also prompted many humanitarian NGOs to scale-down or completely stop operations in the camps. Zamzam campA sheik of Zamzam camp near El Fasher, capital of North Darfur, complained of the deterioration of health conditions, the spread of diseases such as diarrhoea among children, and the breeding of flies. He attributed the situation to “the withdrawal from the camp of some of the organisations working in the field of health”. The sheikh told Radio Dabanga that more than 212,000 displaced rely on just one health unit that is working in Zamzam. “The unit opens at 6am and closes at 3pm. This means that outside of these hours, there are no health services for the displaced, who include many pregnant women, children and elderly who might require emergency treatment.” He pointed out that two large medical units that were previously serving the camp withdrew, and nothing has come to take their place. Zalingei campsSimilar challenges face the displaced of the Zalingei camps in Central Darfur. The coordinator of the camps largely echoes his Zamzam counterpart in his concern over the spread of disease, as well as malnutrition. “Mosquitoes, flies and the deterioration of the environmental health lead to the spread of diarrhoea, malaria and other diseases, especially among children, pregnant women and the elderly,” he said. “The health centres see very large numbers of patients suffering from these diseases on a daily basis, and there have already been several deaths from disease.” He said that the displaced have appealed to organisations to drain and spray the pools of water and houses, but have not had any response. Nyala campsThe displaced persons of camp Attash in Nyala, capital of South Darfur, have complained of a water crisis. Sheikh Abdel Karim Abkar who frequently reports to Radio Dabanga, said on Monday that residents of the eastern side of the camp, especially the newly displaced persons, are suffering from a water crisis as a result of the stoppage of two water pumps. “This forces the displaced to buy their daily water from cart owners,” he said. “The national organisation working in the field of water at the camp attributed the stoppage to the current fuel crisis in Nyala city.” As previously reported by Radio Dabanga, there has indeed been a scarcity of fuel in the city of Nyala due to supply problems. This has seen fuel prices rise dramatically. A youth representative from the nearby Dreige camp lamented the soaring price of consumer goods at the market. He told Radio Dabanga on Monday that the price of a pound of sugar has risen to SDG4.50 ($1), a plate of corn to SDG15 ($3.40), a bag of tea SDG5 ($1.14), a sack of charcoal SDG800 ($1.82), and a bottle of oil to SDG9 ($2). He remarked that a pound of dry chili has risen by between SDG100 ($22.77) and SDG150 ($34). File photo: Albert González Farran/UnamidRelated: Life ‘harsh and intolerable’ for Darfur displaced (23 July 2013)UN Chief: ‘Situation in Darfur continues to regress’ (22 July 2013)Short rations, rising Ramadan prices plague Darfur displaced (12 July 2013)