UN officials who recently visited a border town in the Central African Republic have reported that approximately 9,700 people have fled Sudan and entered the country so far.

The officials anticipate that more refugees will continue to arrive. A third of the refugees are Central Africans returning home, and some have been taken in by local families, while others have had to create makeshift camps around the town of Am Dafok.

The UN’s top humanitarian official in the country, Mohamed Ag Ayoya, stated that the government will decide where this population will be settled.

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However, the rainy season started in the area this month, and the region is prone to flooding. Furthermore, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has expressed concern about the risk of malaria outbreaks and malnutrition in the area. If people become weak from malnutrition, they will be more susceptible to getting sick.

The WHO’s emergencies officer, Gervais Tengomo, stated that they are trying to provide mosquito nets to protect people against malaria and are intensifying surveillance to detect and control any possible epidemic quickly.

The Central African Republic faces many challenges of its own, with more than half of its population requiring assistance and protection.

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The country has been undergoing a civil war for several years, which has kept it among the world’s ten poorest nations. The UN has reported that approximately 120,000 people in the country require food assistance.