S. Sudan: UN working to mitigate risks of rainy seasons Article Comments (0) email Email print Print pdfSave separation increase decrease separation separation March 11, 2014 (JUBA) – The United Nations on Tuesday warned of unforeseen risks among the displaced South Sudanese as the raining seasons approaches, raising fears of possible crisis. At least 706,000 people, agencies say, have been displaced since the beginning of the crisis in mid-December last year, 77,000 of which are seeking refuge at eight UN bases in the country. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and other UN partners are reportedly working to develop ways to mitigate the risks of flooding and associated health and safety concerns after rainstorms caused flooding and destroyed hundreds of tents at a UN base in Juba. “The shelter and non-food relief item humanitarian cluster, co-led by IOM, is currently testing a shelter prototype for the rainy season using sandbags, floor elevation and additional framing materials to fortify existing shelters,” IOM spokesperson, Chris Lom said on Tuesday. He, however, stressed that the cluster was “also working to decongest displacement sites by identifying space for expansion, and were prepositioning relief supplies in anticipation of logistical constraints caused by flooded roads.” Meanwhile, Tarik Jasarevic, the spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO) said cholera vaccinations, which commenced a week ago, had so far benefitted over 3,300 people. “The first round had been completed a week earlier, with more than 65,000 people vaccinated,” he stated, adding that cholera vaccinations required two rounds meaning all those people would be revaccinated shortly. He said the ongoing vaccination was only a preventive measure using existing stockpiles managed by WHO, UN Children Fund (UNICEF), Medecins sans Frontiers and partners. “Internally displaced persons in UN camps are considered to be at high risk. Fortunately, they were easy to access and easy to re-vaccinate two weeks later,” said Jasarevic. (ST).
Posted on: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 08:03:40 +0000
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