Refugee Camp in South Sudan (B&W)

JAMAM, SOUTH SUDAN - APRIL 2012: Jamam refugee camp in Upper Nile State, South Sudan houses 36,500 vulnerable people who have fled across the border from their homes in Blue Nile state to escape the ongoing fighting between Khartoum"u2019s government troops and the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Army. Water is desperately scarce in the camp and as people form long lines at taps in 40 degrees of heat, frustration and fights break out. Nearby at a dried up watering hole, every day dozens of thirsty children dig deep holes and caves into the parched earth to scoop up cups of muddy water. People are weakened by vomiting and diarrhea but NGO's believe the real danger will come when the rains arrive in a few weeks time. Marcel Pelletier, a water engineer with the ICRC says, "In my ten years' experience as a water engineer in conflict-affected areas, I would say the water shortage in Jamam is as severe as anything I've seen. It is a desperate situation. There is no excess water for washing; it is all used for cooking and drinking. People are digging by hand into the ground on the site of dried-up watering holes and scooping up any water they find. These people are thirsty and are spending six hours outside with jerry cans in the intense heat. The rains will come in about 5 weeks. Far from being the solution, the rains will actually make things worse. The lowland where animals now graze and which people have used as a toilet will flood, turning it into a vast contaminated lake. With no clean water nearby, people will drink directly from it. The health risk is glaring; deadly water related diseases could sweep through the camp like wildfire. We have a real humanitarian crisis on our hands. We only have weeks to prevent it getting worse and indeed spinning out of control"u201d. (Photo by Tom Stoddart/Getty Images)