The High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) warned on December 20 of an influx of refugees into South Sudan, from Sudan in recent weeks. Alarm also sounded on Monday December 23 by Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which noted that more than 5,000 people crossed the border between the two countries every day in December. Consequence: the two transit centers of Renk, on the South Sudanese side, are completely overwhelmed and a cholera epidemic declared in October is in “ alarming and rapid increase », According to the NGO.
2 mins
THE two Renk transit centersin South Sudan, currently host more than 17,000 displaced people even though they are designed to accommodate 8,000 people maximum. The High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated, at the end of last week, that more than 80,000 people, mainly women and children, had crossed the border in less than three weeks. This after the intensification of fighting in Sudan in the states of White Nile, Sennar and Blue Nile, says the UN body.
According to Doctors Without Borders (MSF), thousands of Sudanese refugees are now forced to sleep outside, with limited access to food, water and health care. Most camps are overwhelmed. Waste is accumulating everywhere, latrines are overflowing… Consequence: the cholera epidemic which broke out at the end of October is gaining momentum.
MSF notes an increase “ alarming and fast » of suspected cases in camps in Unity and Central Equatoria States in particular. 92 people died in Unity State, 25 in camps near Juba.
“ Drinking water is contaminated and patients arrive at our centers in critical condition, many on the verge of death », exclaims Mamman Mustapha. For this head of mission at MSF, it is urgent to take “ immediate measures “, Otherwise ” cholera cases will skyrocket in the coming days and weeks “, he warns.
Also readSudan: the suspended lives of Renk refugees