26 June 2008 - UNICEF urges Sudanese households to prioritise good hygiene and prevent disease in rainy seasonWith most of Sudan experiencing the onset of the annual rainy season, UNICEF is urging households to prioritise personal and household hygiene in an effort to reduce the risks from water-borne diseases. In 2007, a combination of water treatment programmes and improved hygiene education prevented a serious incidence of acute water diarrhoea and cholera in the country. “The start of the rains increases the likelihood of water-borne diseases, which can lead to fatalities especially amongst children,” said UNICEF Representative Ted Chaiban. “However, effective actions by individuals can reduce the risks of major outbreaks. Everyone must play their part to protect their own health.” An estimated 28 per cent of children under the age of five in Sudan will experience diarrhoeal disease during a year. UNICEF recommends a number of simple measures that families can take to protect themselves from water-borne diseases:
UNICEF and its partners are actively supporting a programme of preventative measures to reduce the risk of water-borne illnesses; for example through supporting chlorination of water sources for some 2.1 million people in the northern states, tankering of clean water to more than 96,000 people per week in Juba, installing surface water treatment plants in Southern Sudan producing 670m3 per day, ensuring sufficient medical supplies such as oral rehydration salts are already at state level in case of any disease outbreaks, and implementing public education programmes through the mass media and at community level across all Sudan. “UNICEF is pleased to be a key actor in preventing disease outbreaks during the rainy season, but providing supplies and cleaning water sources is not enough by itself,” said Ted Chaiban. “Every household must do what it can to ensure it is protected against water-related diseases – not just in the rainy season, but throughout the year.”
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