Displaced people in South Sudan receive vaccination against cholera

The internally displaced people living in a camp near South Sudan's capital Juba have recently received vaccination against cholera as the disease spreads to many other parts of the country following report of the first case on Oct 28 at a transit center for refugees and returnees.

South Sudan's first case of the latest cholera outbreak was reported at Renk transit center for refugees and returnees fleeing conflict in neighboring Sudan.

Many of those affected are people living in the internally displaced persons' camps where sanitation is poor, exposing them to higher risk of infection.

The worst-hit area is the oil-rich Unity state said the government and the state has recorded more than 3,000 cases of cholera with at least 79 people died of the disease, according to the local authorities. More than 20 cholera-related deaths have been reported in Juba, said the city's authorities.

In an attempt to contain the spreading of the disease, South Sudan's government and the World Health Organization (WHO) are now racing to administer cholera vaccines among internally displaced people in the capital Juba and the nearby regions.

Medical workers said the vaccination campaign alone is not capable of curbing the epidemic and there needs to be more complimentary measures to construct a complete intervention system.

"The vaccine is an important, very critical part of the intervention but at the same time it should be also complimentary with extra wash intervention, surveillance, early detection and treatment, so, it's a combination of intervention, " said Tatek Mamecha, medical staff of WHO South Sudan.

The South Sudan government said currently, the vaccines are still not enough to cover the population in all areas where cholera cases have been reported.

According to WHO, the country has one of the most underdeveloped health sectors in the world and many of the country's medical facilities are only operational because of the support from aid agencies.

Displaced people in South Sudan receive vaccination against cholera

Displaced people in South Sudan receive vaccination against cholera

Displaced people in South Sudan receive vaccination against cholera

Displaced people in South Sudan receive vaccination against cholera

The continuing conflict between Israel and Lebanon has not only displaced people from their homes, but also pushed farmers off the land they depend on in the south of the country, as an estimated 80 percent have stopped working due to damaged fields, unsafe roads, and fears of contamination.

Despite Israel and Lebanon agreeing last Thursday to a three-week extension of an original 10-day ceasefire deal which began between in mid-April, deadly Israeli strikes have continued to hit southern parts of Lebanon, resulting in numerous deaths and widespread damage.

Controversy has also arisen over the Israeli military's efforts to extend the territories it occupies in southern Lebanon as part of what it terms as a "security buffer zone" along the border.

Lebanese residents have been warned against returning to their homes within this area, with Israel announcing that anyone who approaches this so-called "Yellow Line" will be considered a threat.

However, in spite of these difficulties, some farmers in the southern city of Tyre are trying to keep their connection to the soil alive.

A group of women have been bravely planting on borrowed land, because their own is now too dangerous to reach. Here, there are growing herbs such as basil, sage, rosemary, mint and thyme in neat rows.

For displaced local farmer Zainab, who hails from the border town of Naqoura, this field is not home, but it is where she has found a way to keep going amid times of crisis.

"I was displaced from my own land. I'm a farmer. I used to farm my land in Naqoura, so I started farming here, too. As you know, most of us from the south are farmers. Agriculture is the main thing we do," she said.

Across southern Lebanon, roughly 80 percent of local farmers have stopped working either because they are unable to reach their land or they fear it is no longer safe.

More than 17,000 farmers have been affected, with their fields damaged by shelling, fires, bulldozing, and contamination.

Officials have condemned the Israeli attacks on the region which have put the livelihood of ordinary people at risk and have cost some innocent civilian their lives.

"Under the recent acts of aggression, there was difficulty for the farmers to get to their lands. Most of the times they would even be targeted. I know some farms owners who hired workers to harvest the crops -- as a result, unfortunately, some of them were killed," said Alwan Charafeddine, the Deputy Mayor of Tyre City.

Agriculture is a key part of the Lebanese economy, but also the backbone of daily life in the south of the country. The region produces staples like olives, citrus, tobacco and vegetables, and when farmers are forced off their land, the consequences are felt across the country.

"I left the land. I left the crops I had planted, which, according to the season, were cabbage, cauliflower, fava beans and peas. More than leaving the land, I left my whole life behind, and now I'm here," said Zainab.

"After the targeting of the bridge that connected Tyre with Sidon, it became hard to get many of the supplies we used to get through there, which has caused the prices of agricultural products to rise," said the deputy mayor.

But amid these hard times, a glimmer of hope remains. On land belonging to local authorities, the Seeds of Tyre project is giving displaced women work, a source of income, and an outlet which allows them to pass on their skills.

Using donated seeds of aromatic herbs, they are producing basil and rose water and orange blossom, generating a small economy which is taking root in the middle of a much larger loss.

For Zainab, working the soil here offers some stability at a time of conflict, with this temporary field helping farmers tick over as they wait for safe access to their own land.

Farmers turn to temporary fields as swathes of land destroyed in southern Lebanon