Aid workers this week confirmed several cases of COVID-19 in Sudan’s camps for refugees who fled the fighting in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region. The United Nations refugee agency and aid group Mercy Corps say an urgent intervention is needed to avoid a humanitarian disaster.Aid organizations reported four confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Sudan’s Um Rakouba camp for Ethiopian refugees this week. The camp houses 25,000 people who have arrived since November, living in very basic, overcrowded conditions that present an opportunity for the coronavirus to easily spread.FILE – Tigray refugees who fled the conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, wait to receive aid at Umm Rakouba refugee camp in Qadarif, eastern Sudan, Nov. 24, 2020.Mercy Corps is running a health clinic in the Um Rakouba camp and has treated nearly 5,000 refugees. The group’s regional director Sean Granville-Ross called for swift and decisive action to prevent further spread of the virus.“It’s a matter of great concern for all of us — the conditions of the camp, the vulnerability of the people, the population density which make social distancing very difficult,” said Granville-Ross. “And the lack of materials, PPE and equipment to enable us to really mange this outbreak and take care of people.”The four people confirmed to have COVID-19 have been quarantined, says UNHCR officer Guilia Raffaelli.“The confirmed positive cases undergo isolation and have contact tracing primary contacts pending their test results. Other activities are being stopped, like communications with communities and office relations centers, and more funding is needed in order to respond,” said Raffaelli.IRC Works With Sudanese Authorities to Expand Aid Delivery to Ethiopian Refugees Hundreds continue to flee Ethiopia’s troubled Tigray region despite government assurances of safety back home Sudanese authorities received aid from UAE and other Arab countries to help the Ethiopian refugees in December. Health observers say more money is needed due to the increasing influx and the growing risk of COVID-19.Sudan has registered more than 23,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since late October, with more than 2,000 deaths.Meanwhile, Sudan’s government and aid organizations have finished preparations to move the refugees to a new camp west of Al-Qadarif. The government says the move will take refugees away from the tense border area and improve security.
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