GENEVA, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- The progression of the rainy season in South Sudan has raised concerns about a cholera outbreak that has afflicted the conflict-ridden country for over a year, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Tuesday.
"The outbreak has compounded already dire humanitarian needs," IOM spokesperson Olivia Heaton said at a UN media briefing.
Some 4 million people have been displaced by an internal conflict that erupted in December 2013 in South Sudan, the world's newest nation, she said.
Since June 18, 2016, more than 18,000 cholera cases, including 328 deaths, have been reported in the country.
IOM health and water, sanitation, and hygiene teams continue to respond to the outbreak, Heaton said.
Disease outbreaks are particularly dangerous for displaced and vulnerable populations such as children under the age of five, who account for more than one in five cholera cases reported in 2017.
Many locations experiencing outbreaks are in proximity to the Nile River, increasing the impact of the rainy season on the cholera outbreak and risks of its further spread.
Beldina Gikundi, the IOM's South Sudan migration health emergency officer, said that throughout the rainy season, as much as 60 percent of the country is inaccessible by road.
WHO press spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said at the same briefing that fighting cholera in South Sudan was made more difficult due to food insecurity, the conflict in the country, and a very weak health system.
