The humanitarian crisis in Sudan's Darfur region appears to have eased as the death toll from disease falls, a senior World Health Organization (WHO) official said today.
Although more information was needed, there were indications the numbers dying from hunger and infectious diseases amongst the western Sudan region's more than 1.5 million refugees had fallen significantly, WHO crisis chief Mr David Nabarro said.
The UN health agency had not been able to carry out a fresh study of mortality rates within the various refugee camps inside Darfur, largely because the continuing insecurity made it difficult for its international staffers to move about, the official said.
But it had probably dropped to below half the 10,000 a month that the WHO estimated in October when it calculated that some 70,000 had succumbed to disease and malnutrition since March.
"We have not had the kind of dysentery, diarrhoea and hepatitis outbreaks during October, November and December that we had in July, August and September," Mr Nabarro said.
The refugees were forced to flee when fighting erupted in early 2003 between rebels, the government in Khartoum and armed militias, which the government has been accused of supporting.
Khartoum admits arming some militias to fight the rebels, but it denies any links to the Janjaweed militias, who are accused of widespread abuses including mass killings and rapes.