Relief for Two of South Sudans Most Neglected Regions

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When our assessment team visited communities in Renk and Awerial, we soon recognised that these were two of the most neglected and underserved counties in South Sudanâ&${esc.hash}128;&${esc.hash}148;the world's newest country. In Renk, impoverished communities have been struggling to cope with an influx of 20,000 returnees from Sudan who have been living in temporary camps on the outskirts of their villages. "The living conditions for the returnees are quite shocking," said Stella Chetham, Medair Field Communications Officer. "Yet when we see the conditions the host community is living in, there is a huge amount of poverty there too. There is no way that this already deeply deprived community can adequately support the huge influx of returnees." In recent days, insecurity has intensified in border areas near Renk, placing these already vulnerable people at even greater risk. At a health clinic in Gerger, Renk county, our team found a building empty of patients and almost entirely barren of supplies or medicine. "There are so many things missing from the clinic," Hannan, a resident of Gerger, told us. "People have malaria and diarrhoea, but we have to buy medicines from outside because we can't get them at the clinic." Owafa, a mother of three young children, spoke with us about the urgent need for better health care. "They sometimes vaccinate the children but there is no electricity to keep the vaccines cold," she said. "So we walk to another clinicâ&${esc.hash}128;&${esc.hash}148;it's far. Medicine is very expensive. The amount for one medicine can feed my family for two or three days." People also told us that they drink untreated water right from the Nile, because the water system in town is broken. "The level of need in water and health services for the people was astounding," said Jesse Pleger, Medair WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) advisor. "We came back clearly convinced that there was a real need for us to intervene in both these locations." Our year-long project will rehabilitate and support a total of eight health facilities. We will also provide clean water sources and improve sanitation in Renk and Awerial. Medair will work alongside the state government departments and local authorities to ensure that our work makes a lasting contribution to the new nation. The project is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development and by private donations from Medair supporters. Just as we begin new projects in Renk and Awerial, we are also concluding our long-term health and WASH projects in Melut and Manyo counties in Upper Nile State. We leave those communities in a much greater position of strength, having worked closely with local authorities to help them develop the skills, knowledge, and systems to be able to function independently. "Our goal is always to do ourselves out of a job," said Caroline Boyd, Medair Country Director. "We have witnessed real transformation over the time that we have been there, in spite of the many challenges of working in such remote and underdeveloped areas. Medair has built up experience in working in locations where there is very little other NGO presence, and we feel that we are uniquely equipped to be able to offer similar support in Renk and Awerial." Our emergency response teams are already working in camps in Renk county, and we are now getting started on longer term projects in support of the surrounding community in Renk and in Awerial. "These two approaches being implemented side-by-side in one county show the full spectrum of our work, from emergency relief right through to rehabilitation," said Stella. "No one gets left out. The authorities are continuously expressing how grateful they are to us for our support here." __________________________________________________________________________________ Medair's new projects in Renk and Awerial are made possible by the United States Agency for International Development and by private donations from Medair supporters. South Sudan became an independent nation on 9 July 2011. Medair has been present in the region since 1991 with a continuous presence since 1995. We provide health and WASH support to vulnerable communities and conduct emergency responses throughout all 10 states. Read more about Medair's work in South Sudan. This web update was produced with resources gathered by Medair field and headquarters staff. The views expressed herein are those solely of Medair and should not be taken, in any way, to reflect the official opinion of any other organisation.