17 June 2015 - UNMISS was taking matters of poor hygiene at its protection site in Malakal, Upper Nile, seriously and working quickly to solve the problem, the mission’s top official in the state said today.

UNMISS State Coordinator Deborah Schein was responding to concerns raised by displaced women at the site that unhygienic conditions could lead to an outbreak of infectious diseases if urgent measures were not taken.

“The pit latrines are in a terrible shape,” said one internally displaced person (IDP), Lucia Obur. “They are full due to the increasing number of IDPs and this situation is dangerous as it might result in an outbreak of infectious diseases.”

Calling on UNMISS and humanitarian partners to come to their rescue, the women said most latrines had not been emptied for some time and IDPs were now using shower rooms instead.

Ms. Schein said the protection site originally had roads and by-roads that allowed easy access to regularly clean latrines and drains.

“Unfortunately people are putting illegal structures along these roads and these areas and even over the drains that makes it difficult to clean,” she said.

To correct the problem, UNMISS was telling people with structures in these areas to remove them. “If they do not remove them after a period of time, we will go in with our UNPOL (UN Police) officers and the FPU (Formed Police Unit) and remove them,” said Ms. Schein.

Emphasizing that clearing the drains and ablutions was vital in preventing cases of cholera or other water-borne diseases, Ms. Schein called on the community to cooperate.

“What we really need is assistance from the community,” she said. “The community should prevent people from putting up illegal structures in these areas.”

The chairperson of the women’s group, Rachel Mayik, also urged IDPs to stop relying on the UN for issues they can resolve themselves.

“We have talked about the issue of pit latrines a number of times and we agreed that we need to talk among ourselves and come up with a plan on how to manage them,” she said. “We should also stop those who are messing the shower rooms. Do we need to wait for the UN to tell us that?”

During another discussion on mounting tensions in the protection site, women urged the UN to continue raising community awareness on reconciliation, peaceful coexistence, forgiveness and tolerance.