Serious water crisis in East Darfur’s Khor Omer camp

The estimated 11,000 displaced living in Khor Omer camp, East Darfur, have been suffering from a serious water shortage for the past two months. The borehole and three water distribution points are malfunctioning, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported in its Humanitarian Bulletin of 3-9 February. At the same time, water-related needs in the camp have increased with the recent arrival of 1,320 people from Abu Karinka locality in East Darfur. The Sudan government’s Water, Environmental and Sanitation (WES) department and the UN Children’s Fund (Unicef) stated that they would repair the distribution points in the camp as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the health centre in the camp is running low on medical supplies. The last shipment of essential drugs was sent in December 2013. As a result, patients have to buy medicines from the market. Many resorted to traditional medicines. The number of people seeking medical assistance in the camp clinic has declined from 100 patients per day in December 2013 to 10 patients per day in January 2014, according to medical staff. The international organisation Merlin will take over the health services in the camp shortly. File photo: A Darfuri woman collecting water from a wadi Related: Ma’alia-Hamr clashes kill 27, injure 30, displace 6,000 in Sudan’s West Kordofan (9 December 2014)