-10-
the camp.
Health, education, and social welfare facilities exist for the refugees in
The health clinic is staffed by a resident nurse and two volun-
teers. A doctor with the Hong Kong Medical Service also pays regular calls.
On a USCR visit to the clinic in February, few serious health or medical cases
were encountered: patients that do require advanced care are promptly trans-
Only eight patients were
ported to hospitals, according to the clinic staff.
hospitalized in January. The usual complaints were present, including a
number of children's cases of common childhood disorders.
Four areas present concern, however. First, there were--in February
1986--ten cases of tuberculosis, a highly contagious disease in its active
stages, which causes some alarm because of the camp's highly congested
conditions. Second, 220 cases--more than 10 percent of the camp popula-
tion--reported head lice in January, a statistic that speaks for itself.
Third, the clinic staff reported that recently gastric disorders were becoming
a fairly frequent complaint among young men. They linked these cases with
increased anxieties and depression among young males, indicating a growing
mental health problem in the camp.
use.
6
The fourth area, sometimes closely linked to the third, is illicit drug
Estimates vary widely on the number of camp drug users. A Hong Kong
government official asserted there were 88 "hard" cases, that the government
knew exactly who they were, and was keeping a close watch on them. A private
agency official estimated there were 100 to 120 cases. In any event--irrespec-
tive of what the true number is--the drug problem appears limited to Jubilee.
Plans are underway to merge the two camps this summer into one in Kai
Tak. This reorganization, which would close the Jubilee site, offers a timely
opportunity to concentrate UNHCR and other resources for the effective
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.