As a reult of the violent inter-tribal clashes in Jonglei State, south Sudan, upwards of fifteen thousand fleeing people have already arrived in Akobo. Now is a crucial time to get food and other items to these families, as transport to the area has only recently become possible by road because of the swampy terrain. With the current rains this access will probably only last a few weeks. MSF have assisted Akobo hospital with medical supplies, mosquito nets and blankets for the wounded, but there is not enough food to feed the patients and their families, MSF teams have also started purchasing supplies locally.
The Lekwongole attacks displaced more than 5,000 people, who fled to Pibor town. Families in the area took many of them in, sharing their homes and food. However, since the March attacks there has been a worrying increase in admissions for malnutrition to MSF’s feeding programme in Pibor. While this is the traditional “hunger period” in Pibor County, the levels of malnutrition MSF is seeing are the worst in three years.
Without access to the fields back in their villages, the displaced people are the most affected by malnutrition. Since the March attack, people who fled their villages make up more than half (57%) of the 247 new admissions to the MSF feeding programme in Pibor.
This year, the usual transportations of food rations by other agencies to Pibor were also seriously hampered by insecurity. Following the rise in malnourished patients, MSF lobbied the UN and the World Food Program and this week 17 trucks of food supplies arrived.
Added to the problem of food, many of the displaced people don't have easy access to clean water, instead drawing it from nearby rivers. In the last fortnight, MSF teams treated 43 cases of acute watery diarrhoea in Pibor and two of the samples sent to the laboratory confirmed this is an outbreak of cholera - a highly contagious disease caused by poor sanitation. As a result, MSF has brought in a doctor and four nurses to deal with the outbreak, and is treating patients in a cholera treatment centre.
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MSF teams have been working in Sudan since 1978, providing emergency medical humanitarian assistance. In addition to frequent outbreaks of violence and attacks, in the region, malnutrition is prevalent, maternal mortality rates remain among the highest in the world, tuberculosis and kala azar infections are ongoing problems, and large-scale outbreaks of meningitis, measles, cholera, and malaria are common.