People living in displacement camps across Sudan’s Darfur region are enduring dire humanitarian conditions as deadly diseases and epidemics spread amid the near-total absence of healthcare services.
Speaking to Mashaweer, displaced resident Salem Abdullah said, “Displaced people are living in appalling humanitarian conditions as worsening living standards have left them facing a slow death, particularly the elderly, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups, including women and children.”
He added, “The lack of healthcare services has contributed to the spread of diseases and epidemics, particularly cholera, which is spreading rapidly throughout the displacement camps.”
Abdullah continued, “In my view, the main cause of the cholera outbreak is contaminated water and the absence of proper sanitation. At the same time, medical personnel are unable to contain the epidemic because health facilities have ceased operating and essential medicines and intravenous fluids are unavailable.”
Bishara Omar, a resident of Atash Camp, said, “Many displaced people are unable to secure even the minimum amount of food. The situation has become unbearable. Sadly, with each passing day, we become more hopeless as our living conditions continue to deteriorate. We have exhausted everything we own, and now the specter of hunger surrounds us, along with the cholera outbreak that claims lives every day. We are unable to provide any assistance to those who fall ill, which is heartbreaking and deeply painful.”
He told Mashaweer that “conditions in Darfur’s displacement camps have become increasingly alarming, spreading fear and panic among displaced communities, particularly as deaths from hunger and disease continue to rise. Many people feel helpless because they cannot provide food for children and the elderly.”
