![An MSF nurse, Regina Joseph, takes a blood sample for a rapid malaria test for Masakeel Deng, who is one of the South Sudanese returnees from Sudan. [Photo by Nasir Ghafoor/MSF]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sudanspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Photo-2.jpg?resize=2160%2C1440&ssl=1)
“Thousands of people are stranded in the main transit center or at various locations in Renk town with very limited basic necessities such as shelter, water, sanitation and food. An overstretched healthcare system and limited humanitarian response cannot absorb additional needs. A larger coordinated effort by the humanitarian actors is critical to address the needs of those arriving from Sudan,” said Jocelyn YAPI, MSF Head of Mission in South Sudan in a statement on Tuesday.
Jocelyn said the poor shelter, water and sanitation situation has also put these people at risk of disease outbreaks in Renk.
“Our teams are conducting around 110 medical consultations daily, treating patients suffering from acute watery diarrhoea, respiratory tract Infections, eye infections, malaria and other diseases. The poor shelter, water and sanitation situation has also put these people at risk of disease outbreaks.”
He added that in Northern Bahr El Ghazal state, MSF has set up a mobile clinic close to the Wedwill refugee camp to offer healthcare services to the refugees and returnees from Sudan.
“The clinic also provides consultation for the host communities. During the first week of services, around 500 people sought medical consultations from the mobile clinic; 60% of which were refugees. A conflict in Sudan erupted in April 2023 and has killed hundreds of people, driven more than 200,000 to flee across the borders,” he said.
He said more people continue to leave, taking dangerous and long journeys to the neighbouring countries including South Sudan as the humanitarian situation worsens.
According to United Nations, over 110,000 people so far have fled the conflict in Sudan and sought refuge in South Sudan.
Renk town in Upper Nile state has received around 75 per cent of these returnees and refugees. Most of the people are South Sudanese and arriving at the border exhausted and very vulnerable.
Only a few of those who still remain in Renk are able to pay the transport fees to continue their journey from Renk to other parts of the country.
“We are struggling. There is no mosquito net and no water or food. We need shelter. There are many snakes and people sleep on the ground. There are so many problems here. The rainy season is coming, and the children are getting sick. We do not want to stay here,” said Treza Noyul, a mother who moved with her seven children from Khartoum a month ago and is currently living with hundreds of returnees at the rubb halls in Renk.
