At the Meshtel camp that was abandoned when Annan arrived, UN officials had planned to give Annan a firsthand view of the grim conditions facing many of those driven from their villages.
The million or so displaced people of Darfur have gathered in more than 100 settlements across the vast region, which is as large as France. Aid agencies have begun offering food, water and shelter in some of the camps to try to reduce the desperation.
more deaths
But there are only 300 international aid workers in Darfur, 50 of whom work for the UN, said Jan Egeland, the UN under secretary for humanitarian affairs.
The task they face is huge. A million or more residents, most of them farmers who grow their own food, now live in makeshift homes far from their land. More than 100,000 others are living in rugged refugee camps in Chad.
Even in normal years, 20,000 to 30,000 people die in Darfur from preventable diseases like malaria, cholera and diarrhea. UN officials expect far more people to die this year with residents clustered together in camps.
At least 50 camps in Darfur are receiving no aid, Egeland said. Meshtel had been one of those.
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