International agency Oxfam has called for new, safe locations to be urgently identified for thousands of the refugees, to ease the burden on the overcrowded camps in Maban, Upper Nile State.
The head of Oxfam’s emergency response in Maban Pauline Ballaman said new safe locations for Sudanese refugees are needed in South Sudan as camps sheltering more than 100,000 people.She said the current camps became ticking time bombs, on the point of a major outbreak of disease.
Ms Ballaman called on the Government of South Sudan and the international community to prioritise finding new sites outside Maban.
She said sites close to the River Nile were proposed earlier this year, but discussions have delayed.
Ms Ballaman said the world needs to step up efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan states of Sudan.
She added that immediate injection of funds is needed to prevent a major disaster in Maban.
At least 16 refugees have already died from an outbreak of water-borne Hepatitis E in the past few weeks and aid workers fear the numbers could escalate in the coming months.