Scabies spread in IDP camp near Hasakah city

IDPs in Washokani camp on the outskirts of the city of Hasakah, northeast Syria – North Press
IDPs in Washokani camp on the outskirts of the city of Hasakah, northeast Syria – North Press

HASAKAH, Syria (North Press) – An official in a medical NGO operating at the Washokani IDP camp, east of the city of Hasakah, northeastern Syria, said on Tuesday that over 200 cases of scabies have been diagnosed in the camp.

Khunav Ahmed, an official at Kurdish Red Crescent, revealed to North Press that they recorded 119 cases, most of them children and the elderly, while Syria Relief recorded 117 cases, within the camp which includes 16,900 displaced people, according to statistics issued by the camp administration.

The official attributed this to the lack of hygiene products distributed for the camp IDPs.

The camp administration complains about the lack of services provided by NGOs affiliated with the UN.

The camp was established in a rush in November 2019 to accommodate Sere Kaniye IDPs who had been displaced following the Turkish invasion of their region in October of the same year.

Ahmed added that the disease has reached the level of epidemic. “The concerned NGOs must address this humanitarian catastrophe, provide appropriate treatment and try to eliminate the disease.”

Ahmed said that St. Ephrem Patriarchal Development Committee, an NGO which has direct connections with the World Health Organization, “provided us with anti-scabies medications, including benzyl benzoate and permethrin, to distribute them to infected people, but this is not enough.”