Diarrhea outbreak threatens residents of factory camp

The Camp Master of Factory Camp at the Sime Darby Plantation in Bomi County, has said that the camp could experience an outbreak of water-borne diseases, if the company does not construct additional hand pumps and latrines for residents.

Camp Master Abraham Smith said several residents of the camp are experiencing diarrhea and other water-borne diseases due to lack of adequate hand pumps and latrines.

Speaking to the Liberia News Agency in an interview in the camp on Monday, Smith said the camp, which has a population of over 4,000 residents, has only two hand pumps that cannot fully serve the people.

He, therefore, stressed the need to urgently construct latrines and hand pumps in the camp, to avert a health disaster. Mr. Smith said due to the lack of latrines, feces are found around the camp every day. The Camp Master said the zinc latrines built by the company are not in good condition and, therefore, not fit for use by residents, stressing the need to improve them.

He disclosed that some people have threatened to leave the camp as the rainy season approaches, if Sime Darby fails to improve toilet facilities and renovate houses in the camp. Mr. Smith said most residents currently get their drinking water from creeks they were drinking from in 1990, due to insufficient hand pumps in the camp.-LINA