Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


              Group Warns of Dire Situation in Sudan Refugee Camps

   by Ricci Shryock

   More than 100,000 people fleeing violence in Sudan have sought shelter
   in refugee camps in neighboring South Sudan's Maban region.  According
   to Doctors Without Borders emergency coordinator John Tzanos, the
   refugees face an increasingly dire situation in the camps, with many
   falling ill and dying.
   "We recently conducted a nutritional survey and we found that almost a
   third of the population under five is malnourished and, obviously, the
   youngest children are in an extremely vulnerable state," he said.  "The
   under-two year olds, almost half of them are malnourished."
   Most of the refugees have crossed from Sudan to escape violence in the
   states of Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan.  Sudan's armed forces have
   been fighting rebels in both states since last year.
   The World Food Program plans to begin airdropping 2,000 metric tons of
   food to Maban County beginning in mid-August, and about 3,000 metric
   tons of food to the Yida refugee camp.
   While Tzanos said more food "will help a lot," he cautioned the
   malnutrition among the refugees is more complicated than a simple lack
   of food. "One of our main concerns is hand washing and sanitation," he
   said.  "We need to have enough water; we need to have enough hand
   washing points, latrines in order to break the cycle of disease."  He
   said diarrhea and respiratory infections are compounding the effects of
   malnutrition, especially for the camp's children, elderly and pregnant
   women.
   Late last week, Sudan and South Sudan signed a new agreement over oil
   transit fees.  Tzanos said Doctors Without Borders does not have access
   to the Blue Nile State region, where the fighting is taking place, and
   could not comment on whether that might stem the fighting in the region
   and flow of refugees.
   "What we would like to see is to have the swift acceptance of
   humanitarian assistance and assessment in the southern Sudan region,"
   he said.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/south-sudan-refugees-msf/1476692.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/south-sudan-refugees-msf/1476692.html