An aid group has registered hundreds of displaced families in Western Bahr el Ghazal State for food assistance, amid warnings of a dire health crisis in the camp.
The Mary Help Association, a Catholic humanitarian organization, assessed the Nagero camp in Kpaile Payam on Saturday. The camp shelters people who fled inter-communal violence in neighboring Tambura County.
The group’s field officer, Justin Peter Miskin, said Monday that 600 households have been registered and issued assistance cards for food aid expected to be distributed next week.
“We’re conducting this assessment as part of the ongoing registration for IDPs who fled the conflict,” Miskin told Radio Tamazuj. “So far, we’ve registered 600 households, and they will soon receive food assistance based on the cards they’ve received.”
However, Miskin warned that food alone is insufficient, describing conditions as dire due to inadequate water sources and a severe lack of medication. “There is a high probability of disease outbreaks if the situation continues,” he said, urging other humanitarian groups to intervene.
The health crisis was confirmed by Lauro Netarene Francise, the director of the Nagero Payam Health Department, who is also displaced and living in the camp.
“We are registering more than 11 patients daily, yet there is no medication available either in the camp or at the Kpaile/Bazia Primary Health Care Center,” Francise said.
The deputy administrator of Kpaile Payam, Peter Adam Fada, echoed the urgency. He confirmed the card distribution but pleaded for a comprehensive response.
“We assembled the IDPs within the church premises to wait for support, but what I’ve seen here is hunger,” Fada said. “NGOs are requested to come to Kpaile and witness the situation firsthand. The Ministry of Health must provide essential drugs to save lives.”
The psychological toll of the displacement is also rising. James Sanve Booko, chairperson of the Nagero Payam Youth Association, reported that many young people are traumatized and in need of counseling and psychosocial support.
Among those who fled the violence in Tambura was Natale Ngori, the paramount chief of Nagero Payam. “We urgently need help for pregnant women, children, and the elderly who are suffering from hunger and illness,” he said.
The humanitarian assessment was followed on Sunday by a visit from Wau County Commissioner Michael Geba, his first trip to the area since his appointment.