As influx from Libya to Tunisia continues, UNICEF sets up sanitation facilities

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is setting up sanitation facilities at two transit camps in southern Tunisia as the influx of people fleeing fighting and unrest in neighbouring Libya continues.

Hundreds of latrines, showers and water tanks have been installed in the Ataawan and Shousha camps, both close to the Tunisian-Libyan border, UNICEF reported yesterday. Hygiene kits are also being distributed within the camps and messages are being disseminated about the need for good practices such as regular hand-washing.

The agency said it was doing so to improve the living conditions inside the camps, which have sprung up as thousands of people have crossed over from Libya by car, bus or foot in recent weeks.

The fighting in Libya between Government forces and the opposition follows weeks of unrest in that country that are part of a wider wave of protests across North Africa and the Middle East that have led to the downfall of long-term regimes in Tunisia and Egypt.

The new arrivals in Tunisia are registered at Ataawan and then transferred to Shousha, which is now home to almost 7,800 people waiting to find a way back to their home countries.