Chad — The Sudanese refugees of camp Touloum of eastern Chad complain about deterioration of health services and a shortage of medicines. They also feared the health conditions might worsen due to the rainy season.

Camp sheikh, Haider Suleiman Gardia, explained to Radio Dabanga that the status of health and medical treatment is low in the camp. In addition to medicine shortages, the Department of Psychiatry is also struggling.

Gardia pointed out that a large number of patients suffer from mental illness because of their experiences in Darfur since the beginning of 2003.

He appealed to humanitarian organisations to expedite provision of medicines and improve health services before the rains block roads.

An NGO from the USA has begun distributing clothes to nearly 9,000 Sudanese refugees at camp Jabal, where each person can now get two pieces of clothing.

One refugee from the camp told Radio Dabanga that the clothing includes trousers, shirts, skirts and blouses to be distributed especially to basic and secondary school students, trainees at the vocational centres, those with mental illness and vulnerable groups.

The source said that there is an acute shortage of plastic sheeting and mosquito nets, as the UN High Commission for Refugees has not distributed any in the camp for five years in spite of repeated requests.