Crowded S. Sudan refugee camps on the brink
YIDA, South Sudan (AP) — Tens of thousands of people have already swarmed to a refugee camp in South Sudan and community chiefs expect a new wave to soon begin the trek from Sudan's war-torn Nuba Mountains, setting up what humanitarian workers warn could become a catastrophe.
As many as 15,000 more refugees could stream across the border from Sudan by the end of the year, straining a camp that has been hit by malaria and diarrhea with many people arriving malnourished, said the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR.
"We are already stretched to the breaking point here, and any surge or increase in the population will make it nearly impossible to cope with the situation," UNHCR's Kathryn Mahoney told The Associated Press.
Yida sits near the northern tip of South Sudan's Unity State near the border with Sudan. It is a remote region in one of the world's least developed countries. Recent rains have made roads impassable, and the World Food Program has been forced to drop food from the sky to meet the camps' needs. For the past week, large Ilyushin jets have screamed over the camp, dropping 64 metric tons each day from a height of 200 meters (yards). The cheers of refugees - and some aid workers - watching the spectacle accompany each drop.
The population of Yida rose since February from 17,000 to 65,000 by September. From mid-June through mid-July, around 1,000 new arrivals came each day, along with a rash of death and disease that one Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) official described as "five weeks of hell."
According to MSF, around two people per every 10,000 in the camp were dying each day, double what the organization considers the emergency threshold. Around 25 percent of those admitted to the MSF hospital in Yida were dying. Many were acutely malnourished, and the rains brought malaria and diarrhea.
"In June, July it was so (bad)," recalled MSF Emergency Coordinator Foura Sassou Madi.
Three refugee camps in neighboring Upper Nile state, South Sudan, recently declared an outbreak of Hepatitis E which has already killed 16 people. Doctors are now watching closely for any signs of it in Yida. Madi says they are also watching for any signs of cholera.
An influx of refugees is also expected at the four camps in Upper Nile State's Maban county. The refugees there have fled a similar war in Sudan's Blue Nile. There are now more than 110,000 refugees in the Maban camps.
"Aside perhaps from the Syrian crisis there is no other that matches the compelling realities that we have seen since April, May," said UNHCR's Africa Director George Okoth-Obbo at a recent briefing in South Sudan's capital, Juba.
UNHCR says it needs $183 million to manage the humanitarian needs at the camps. So far only around 40 percent has been delivered. According to Okoth-Obbo, they need at least $20 million more by the end of the year just to maintain their current operations.
Copyright © 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Newer articles:
- Mistrust prevails as Sudan, South Sudan head for limited deal - Reuters - 21/09/2012 13:45
- OIL DATA: China Crude Imports From Sudan Resume in August - Fox Business - 21/09/2012 05:57
- Sudan hopeful for South Sudan deal despite fresh fighting - Reuters - 20/09/2012 15:57
- Severe water shortage in South Sudan camps: Red Cross - Ahram Online - 20/09/2012 11:06
- Girls, not guns: The promise of progress for South Sudan - WNN - Women News Network - 19/09/2012 18:46
Older news items
- Isolated South Sudan camps crowded with refugees; with more expected aid ... - Washington Post - 19/09/2012 13:54
- Sudan refugees flee intensified bombing runs - The Associated Press - 19/09/2012 11:56
- Sudanese President Accepts Invitations To Attend Summit With South Sudanese ... - Bernama - 19/09/2012 08:33
- South Sudan: Making progress in Yida camp - Borglobe - 19/09/2012 08:08
- Our South Sudanese Good Muslims: Brief Analysis on Recent Global Muslims ... - Borglobe - 19/09/2012 06:18
Latest news items (all categories):
- UN experts say South Sudan is close to securing a $13 billion oil-backed loan from a UAE company - 18/05/2024 11:54
- DRC, South Sudan units top Equity’s earnings in first quarter - 18/05/2024 11:49
- Innuendos and tittle tattle of Kiir's regime - 18/05/2024 11:44
- South Sudan government, rebel groups sign pact to achieve lasting peace - 18/05/2024 09:58
- إلى متى ينظر الجميع إلى الفيل و يطعنون ظله..؟ - 15/05/2024 21:51
Random articles (all categories):
- Vatican confirms pope's travel to DR Congo, South Sudan in early 2023 - 02/12/2022 09:00
- South Sudan must sustain efforts to protect human rights, says UN official - UN News Centre - 11/05/2012 21:27
- Christmas from afar: New Zealand troops in South Sudan and Florida, US - 24/12/2020 12:55
- 24 killed in rebel and Army battle in South Sudan - 20/05/2013 06:00
- SPLA soldiers deployed to Western Equatoria to fight LRA militia - 09/09/2009 10:54
Popular articles:
- Who is the darkest person in the world, according to Guinness World Record? - 25/10/2022 02:34 - Read 35982 times
- No oil in troubled waters - 25/03/2014 15:02 - Read 21878 times
- School exam results in South Sudan show decline - 01/04/2012 17:58 - Read 20771 times
- NDSU student from South Sudan receives scholarship - In-Forum - 29/09/2012 01:44 - Read 17481 times
- With prisons full, South Sudan to introduce mobile courts to clear backlog of cases - 11/10/2012 11:29 - Read 14243 times