14 July 2014 - In an urgent effort to prevent cholera from spreading within the UNMISS Malakal Protection of Civilians (PoC) site and surrounding areas, the mission today began draining stagnant water in the camp.

Ongoing, heavy rain in the Upper Nile State capital for the past few months has led to the buildup of water, which will take seven days to clear.

The operation also includes relocating small businesses run by Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to a safer location immediately outside the base to pave the way for the draining and cleaning exercise.

UNMISS State Coordinator Deborah Schein said the operation was vital in protecting the health of IDPs as well as UNMISS staff and humanitarian actors within the camp.

“Therefore we are moving the shopkeepers from inside the log base to an area outside … because we have to bring in heavy equipment to clear the drains of all stagnant water,” she said.

Ms. Shein said UNMISS, in collaboration with humanitarians and other health actors, had also been conducting intensive sensitization campaigns for IDPs and staff on cholera transmission and prevention, including vaccinations.

According to UNMISS Medical Officer Dr. Busingye Tusasirwe, 30 cases of cholera and two deaths have been reported in the Malakal base so far.

UNICEF Malakal Health Specialist Dr. Samuel Pattey noted that recent reported cases of the disease in Upper Nile’s Makal County had increased significantly.

“According to the reports we have received, 719 cases of cholera have been reported in Wau Shilluk, 100 cases Bol, 30 cases in the UN base Malakal and Lul 13 cases,” Dr. Pattey said.

Preliminary figures from a recently concluded registration by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) indicate that 17,000 IDPs are currently living in the two Malakal PoC sites.

As of 11 July, a total of 11, 529 had been relocated from the older and less healthy site (due to poor drainage) to a newer improved PoC area.