UN peacekeepers: “serious humanitarian crisis” in Darfur camp

The United Nations peacekeepers yesterday reported “a serious humanitarian crisis in Otash internally displaced people (IDP) camp, near Nyala, South Darfur.” The UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) in its daily press statement e-mailed to reporters stated that the crisis results from an outbreak of measles, meningitis and diarrhoea. The statement was unusually candid for an UN body operating in Darfur, since the agencies, OCHA and peacekeepers generally tightly self-censor any negative information about the humanitarian situation.

According to the UN Mission, “International NGOs with clinics in the camp are reportedly running out of drugs to attend the affected population. The Mission has reported the issue to the Sudanese Ministry of Health.”