Flooding in the Kassala region is now thought to have affected over over 40,000 people.
Medical experts are now concerned that disease epidemics resulting from the flooding could cause many more deaths. Diarrohea and cholera are already in evidence and could soon spread as both flooding and living conditions deteriorate further.
193 GOAL emergency programme volunteers are carrying out distributions in the areas of health and hygiene, including preventative health campaigns in malaria and cholera. Volunteers are also examining shelter, water and sanitation needs and distributing plastic sheeting, jerry cans for water and 1,500 emergency kits; 1,396 of the emergency kits have been distributed to households that were completely destroyed.
Additionally, GOAL has established a mobile clinic inside Kassala town and is offering health care to 20,000 people, 5 days a week. GOAL Sudan also plan to distribute mosquito nets and medical supplies over the coming weeks.
Earlier this month, GOAL was pleased to take receipt of the first airlift of Irish Aid relief supplies from the new United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD) in Brindisi, Italy. The consignment consisted of 3,000 tarpaulins for use as temporary shelters and over 2,200 mosquito nets, which will not be distributed to victims of the floods.
NOTE: Abnormally heavy and early rainfall in Sudan since the end of June has caused the Nile River and other seasonal rivers to overflow, resulting in extensive flooding. Scores of people have died and some 335,000 people have been rendered homeless, according to government figures.