Summary
Zamzam IDP camp is one of the largest camps in North Darfur State since 2003 at the beginning of the armed conflict. It houses thousands of IDPs. The situation has deteriorated significantly after the April 15 war, with large numbers of people displaced from the affected areas, including new IDPs in El Fasher rural locality. The displacement is still ongoing with renewed clashes and the random dropping of bombs on civilians. Zamzam camp suffers from complex humanitarian conditions due to the overcrowding of huge numbers of people, the scarcity of available resources, and the natural conditions as well as the burden on the displaced people in the camp.
Entirely all IDPs are living in open spaces without access to food, shelter, water, health care, and livelihoods in all 45 new IDP gathering sites in Zamzam camp. People with disabilities, the elderly, women, and children have not been able to access the services they need, and 65% of IDPs have had their homes demolished. Providing food, primary health care, drinking water, and shelter materials are top priorities for IDPs in Zamzam camp, and failure or delay in providing such services will expose IDPs to protection risks.
Challenges and solutions
Protection Challenges :
•Gender-Based Violence (GBV): Many women and girls were subjected to inhumane treatment, verbal abuse, and physical assault. Girls are subjected to labor and sexual exploitation in the markets. There are reports of girls being used as tea sellers to provide food for the family, which exposes them to sexual exploitation.
•Child protection issues (CP): Children are the most vulnerable group during armed conflicts and insecurity. The situation of displaced children in Zamzam camp is very bad and they need intervention to provide psychosocial assistance and food for malnourished children. Eyewitnesses reported that two children were missing from the camp and separated.
Humanitarian Access Challenges:
•Humanitarian access: Blockage of humanitarian corridors/routes by worrying parties means thousands of displaced populations new and old caseloads alike are not receiving lifesaving humanitarian assistance on time
•Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH): The most recent joint rapid assessment in Zamzam camp in July/August 2024 indicates rapidly deteriorating WASH situations, for example, poor hygiene and sanitation due to no access to water and availability, Lack of chlorine and H2S test water sources to save the quality of water, Poor solid and liquid waste management, Open defecation due to lack of latrines compare to overcrowding inside IDPs, Lack of bathing rooms, Appearances of skin, and eye diseases and diarrhea, Lack of health awareness, and hygiene practices, Density of flies and breeding sites, and People and animals living in same space
•Disease outbreak and acute malnutrition: There is the potential danger of water and food-borne disease outbreaks, especially AWD, Cholera, and Acute Malnutrition amidst famine declaration in Zamzam in El Fasher, North Darfur in Sudan
Urgent Humanitarian Assistance is required to prevent catastrophic situations in Zamzam and El Fasher rural:
i.Provision of WASH facilities including rehabilitation and construction of gender-sensitive sanitary and hygiene facilities.
ii.Provision of basic health and nutrition services especially MCH, nutrition, and community and environmental health education through promotional activities using MHNT and trained community volunteers.
iii.Local capacity building for emergency preparedness and response (EPR) for epidemics ( e.g. AWD, Cholera, acute malnutrition, etc. focusing on:
•Solid waste management through garbage collection campaigns and hygiene promotion awareness
•Liquid waste management (VIP Latrines in Shala and Zamzam gathering points
•Provide WASH committees with cleaning tools and other WASH supplies
• Distribution of family hygiene kits
•Rehabilitation and new construction of emergency latrines and bathing rooms
•Rehabilitation of water tanks, containers, and covers to save water quantity and quality.
• Periodically check water quality tests to ensure water safety and quantity
•Distribution of chlorine at the home level and treatment in water sources and conduct H2S test in water sources to save the quality of water to avoid water pollution and contamination
Resources
https://www.hdpointernational.org/
