Harsh conditions for thousands of displaced persons in Gedaref

Thousands of displaced persons in shelters in eastern Sudan’s Al-Qadarif State are suffering from tragic conditions of severe shortages of drinking water, overcrowding of centres’ rooms and poor environment.

The number of people fleeing the war reached 5.4 million, of whom 4.3 million were internally displaced persons living in thousands of temporary centres where they struggled to access food, drinking water and health care.

A volunteer at the Al-Na ‘ir District Shelter Centre in Gedaref State disclosed “38 families, including 172 persons, in one centre”.

She complained about the overcrowding of the shelter centre’s rooms, with 21 people, while malaria was rampant among displaced people inside the centre with no medical care.

She stressed that anyone within the Centre was taking care of treatment and eating without any support, stressing that the Government had not provided them with assistance since last sacrifice.

“On Friday, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) presented blankets, ground brushes, candles, nuts and empty cruisers for drinking water.”

In the same context, one of the supervisors of the Karps Centre in Gedaref State stated that “the number of families residing in the Centre is about 46 with 204 persons”.

There were 4 cases of dengue fever in the centre, including a serious case.

The centre has only two bathrooms, although a large number of displaced persons live in rooms with up to 20 individuals per room, while the Municipality of Al-Qadarif has not died in its commitments to provide treatment and food to shelters.

24.7 million Sudanese need humanitarian assistance and protection, with conflict, displacement and disease outbreaks threatening the country’s completion, especially after 70% of medical facilities were disrupted by war.