South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Awan Achiek
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Monday distributed essential sanitation and hygiene kits to internally displaced people (IDP) in Bentiu town of Unity State.
The donated items include 64 million liters of safe water for maintenance of 3,000 existing sanitation facilities, 2 million liters of treatment and safe disposal of fecal matter, and 1,300 tons of solid waste.
IOM also distributed soap and reusable sanitary pads to the most vulnerable persons in Bentiu IDP camp.
Adkins Aaron Michael, the IOM South Sudan Emergency Coordinator said that women, children and persons with disabilities affected by the ongoing conflict and climate related disasters were the main beneficiaries.
“IOM is committed to providing durable solutions to displacement in Bentiu and elsewhere in South Sudan,” Aaron said in a statement issued in Juba, adding that the Water, Sanitiation and Health (WASH) program aims at providing access to clean water, while empowering communities to collaboratively manage their resources.
“We will continue to monitor developments in Bentiu and its surrounding areas to ensure immediate needs of the most vulnerable communities are met, ensuring that no one is left behind,” he said.
Aaron said IOM remains the only humanitarian actor still delivering essential WASH services for the displaced population in the IDP camp and sites in Bentiu.
“As part of its sustainability model, IOM developed a Resilience, Livelihoods and Equity Strategy to deliver WASH services in displaced settings in South Sudan. Its main objective is to foster self-reliance and generate livelihood opportunities for displaced populations and host communities in Bentiu,” he said.
Aaron noted that IOM has secured investment to develop the water supply infrastructure in Bentiu and Rubkona towns.
“The water supply activities will be operationalized in 2025 and onwards. IOM will continue to monitor developments in Bentiu and its surrounding areas to ensure immediate needs of the most vulnerable communities are met, ensuring that no one is left behind,” he said.
The WASH interventions in Bentiu are funded by USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (USAID/BHA), the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and European Union Humanitarian Aid.
