On my way

I fly out of Bamako Mali in a few hours, arriving in Juba South Sudan Monday morning.  I have enjoyed my time in Mali, and I am also looking forward to this new challenge.  I will again be the coordinator of finance and human resources for an emergency program, this time a refugee camp about 15km from the border with Sudan.  The camp grew from around 20,000 people end of May to around 55,000 people end of July!  The rainy season has started, and the families arriving now arrive in very bad shape.  I will be the only member of the coordination team associated purely with this emergency project at Yida.  I hope to spend about 50% of my time in the capital of Juba, and 50% of my time in the camp.  Here is the latest update on the situation from MSF:

MSF in South Sudan: update 2nd August 2012

New epidemiological data from two refugee camps in South Sudan show mortality and malnutrition rates soaring above emergency thresholds.
In Yida camp, which hosts the 55,000 refugees in Unity State, new MSF epidemiological data of mortality covering June and July shows four deaths per 10,000 people per day for children under five years old. This is double the emergency threshold and indicates an average of at least five children dying each day over this period, most from diarrhoea and severe infections.
The global mortality rate over this period is also double the emergency threshold, with two deaths per 10,000 people per day. The study, completed on July 27th, showed that 82 percent of refugee families had a family member fall ill over the previous two weeks.
In Batil camp in Upper Nile State, hosting around 34,000 refugees, preliminary results of another new MSF epidemiological survey completed on 31st July show the global malnutrition rate among children at 27.7 percent, and the rate of severe acute malnutrition at 10.1 percent, five times above the emergency threshold.
Even worse, 44 percent of children under two years old are malnourished, 18 percent of them with severe acute malnutrition. The study also shows a mortality rate for under-fives in the camp to be at 2.1 per 10,000 people per day over a four-month period, above the emergency threshold.
While the full break-down and analysis of data is still pending, the MSF team fears that the mortality rate in recent weeks is much higher.

MSF in South Sudan: update 30th July 2012

We now have 160 international staff responding to the crisis across the three camps in Maban County.
In Jamam camp, the health situation remains fragile but there have been signs of improvement. Healthcare provision has increased thanks to our mobile clinics and oral rehydration points. Improvements have also been made to sanitation and the water supply is no longer critical.
A 10-day stretch without heavy rain has meant no further flooding. However, the many pools of stagnant water have seen an increase in malaria cases. The relocation of people from Jamam to a new camp at Gendrassa has started, with around 500 people being transferred each day.
In Batil, we are seeing alarming rates of malnutrition. The estimated camp poplulation now stands at 34,099 and we now have more than 1,000 children enrolled in the feeding centre. We have airlifted 30 tonnes of high-energy biscuits and a further 100 tonnes of therapeutic food is on the way.
The population of Doro camp is now between 41,000 and 46,000. We are seeing more severely malnourished children being admitted to our clinic, and malaria cases are rising. However, provisional results suggest that overall and child mortality rates are around borderline emergency thresholds.
Yida camp - whose population is now estimated at 55,000 - is a health catastrophe. Hospital mortality remains very high due to the late arrival of many patients for specialised medical treatment. Children under five years of age are arriving in horrific conditions. They are in shock, with multiple morbidities including septicaemia, lower respiratory tract infections, malnutrition and bloody diarrhoea. 
All roads leading into the camp have been completely cut off and the condition of the airstrip prohibits all larger cargo flights into the camp.