Looming rains and rising numbers: The growing crisis at al-Karama Camp, Blue Nile State

22 May 2026

The number of displaced people keeps rising in al-Karama Camp, just outside Damazin, the capital of the Blue Nile State. According to a local volunteer working for the Emergency Response Rooms, every day, more people arrive. In April, the UN estimated there were roughly 10,000 people within the camp, with many fleeing the violence and ongoing insecurity from the Kurmuk area. 

But while the numbers keep rising, so too are the challenges. The UN admits service delivery in all sectors remains poor. In some cases, 2-3 families live together in crowded, makeshift shelters where the lack of plastic sheeting has forced many to use torn bits of clothing to guard against upcoming torrential rains. “Many families still have no tarpaulins or proper places to stay, especially elderly people and children,” says Faiza Juma, who fled the fighting in Kurmuk back in March. “Some people are sleeping out in the open.”

Without any hospitals or permanent clinics within the camp, coupled with a severe dearth of toilets, many in al-Karama fear diseases will spread, especially with the upcoming rainy season. “There is no hospital or permanent clinic inside the camp,” says Mawaiz Dafallah, also displaced from Kurmuk earlier this year. When someone gets sick, we must contact ambulance teams from humanitarian organisations. In many cases, help arrives only after the patient’s condition has become critical.”

While camp residents are grateful to the organisations that support them, their greatest supporters remain one another. “When it rains, the suffering becomes even worse, but people here support one another,” says Amani Ibrahim. “Families with better shelter often host children and other families during the rain.”