Hundreds of thousands of people have become Internally Displaced (IDPs) and some of them have resettled in camps in El-Gezeria State-Wad- Madani locality. This new environment has created favourable conditions for the spread of NTDs, including scabies.
The University of Khartoum 5S team and local partners from El-Gezeria University in consultation with BSMS developed a plan to undertake an awareness campaign in IDPs camps in El-Gezeria State-Wad- Madani locality. The campaign took place in October 2023 and focused on public engagement to raise the awareness of the communities and IDPs on scabies at the Hantoob and Alhigra camps.
Situation in IDPs camps
- Hantoob camp, where 5200 reside, is very crowded. 80% are vulnerable groups (women and children) living in difficult and complex situations.
- Alhigra IDP camp is also crowded with 1500 people in the camp. 70% of them are women and children.
- A favourable environment for the spread of scabies was observed, including a lack of adequate social services (health, water and sanitation) and little awareness of the disease.
About the campaign
The campaign lasted for 5 days (from the 1st to the 5th of October 2023). Local stakeholders (IDP camp supervisors, medical professionals, El-Gezeria University and Ministry of Health (MoH) – El-Gezeria State) participated in the awareness campaign.
The main mechanisms for engagement during the campaign were public presentations, the distribution of posters and brochures as well a one-person comedy sketch provided by an actor.
The 5S team provided information about scabies nature, prevalence, causes, symptoms (early diagnosis), treatment and the role of the community in preventing the causes and spread of the disease. Medication for scabies was also provided as part of the campaign.
A short film reflecting and documenting the PE activity can be viewed here.
Outbreak of scabies
Out of 605 people who attended a consultation during the campaign, medical personnel diagnosed 174 cases of scabies, which indicates a likely outbreak in the camps.
The 5S team provided medication and treatment to the scabies patients (174 cases) and the remaining medication was sent to the medical centres in Hantoob and Alhigra, where patients will be able to follow-up on their treatment.
Diagnosis and availability of medicines is of paramount importance to IDPs in the camps and was highly appreciated by IDPs and the local stakeholders.
Impact on the programme:
In total, 6015 people benefited from the awareness campaign and 174 diagnosed cases received medication.
Below are a series of images provided by the team with consent from all involved.
