Al-Daein/Nyala, September 21 (Darfur24)
More than 30 families have been displaced from Umm Eid in East Darfur’s Al-Firdous locality to Al-Daein city after poor rainfall caused the agricultural season to fail, while displaced people in Sakli camp near Nyala report worsening food and health conditions.
The families from Umm Eid, about 50 kilometers southwest of Al-Daein, have settled in the South Khor Omar area, where they are facing shortages of food and shelter.
Khadija Ahmed Hassan, a mother of three, told Darfur24 that her family left Umm Eid after deteriorating living conditions and a lack of rainfall undermined agriculture, which she said was the community’s main source of food and income.
Local community initiative committees have appealed to authorities, humanitarian organizations and the Sudanese Relief Agency to provide food and shelter to the newly displaced families.
The displacement comes amid warnings from agricultural sources that poor and irregular rainfall could lead to the failure of the agricultural season in several East Darfur localities, threatening communities that depend on rain-fed farming.
Meanwhile, displaced people in Sakli camp, south of Nyala in South Darfur, said living and health conditions have deteriorated over the past two months.
A camp official told Darfur24 that the World Food Programme had reduced the number of families receiving assistance through aid-distribution cards from about 10,000 to only 160.
He said the camp is also hosting thousands of displaced people from Khartoum and North Darfur who have yet to receive assistance.
Displaced residents said the closure of the camp’s only health center has further worsened conditions, while high treatment costs at private clinics have made healthcare increasingly difficult to access.
They also reported a rise in illnesses, particularly malaria and infections among children.
Sakli is one of several displacement sites around Nyala that have gradually become integrated into residential areas of the city, but displaced residents continue to face severe humanitarian needs.