ReliefWeb

HIGHLIGHTS

• Humanitarian partners have assisted more than 80,000 people in Akobo, Nyirol and Uror counties.

• Emergency food assistance has been distributed to more than 17,300 people in Aburoc. Water remains a predominant concern.

• An attack on Luom, Mayendit County, in May left homes looted, burned and destroyed, and the area’s Primary Health Centre reportedly looted.

• Eleven months on, the cholera outbreak continues to spread, with counties most recently affected increasingly distant from the River Nile.

Response scaling-up in northern Jonglei

Humanitarian partners have assisted more than 80,000 people in Akobo, Nyirol and Uror counties following fighting in April which displaced more than 100,000 people and forced nearly 60 humanitarian workers to relocate.

In Kaikuiny in Akobo County and Pieri and Yuai in Uror County, 15-day food rations have been provided to about 82,000 people, including members of host communities and internally displaced persons (IDPs). This week, teams deployed to Karam in Uror County and Wiejchol and Buong in Akobo County to undertake food distributions, and supplies are being sent by river to enable distributions in additional locations in Akobo County, including Bilkey, Nyandit, Dengjok and Gakdong, in the days ahead. Planning is underway for distributions in Pultruk, Pading and Lankien in Nyirol County.

Partners are capitalizing on the food distributions to deliver other life-saving supplies and services. In Buong, water and sanitation activities, emergency vaccinations, treatment for severely and acutely malnourished children and pregnant and lactating women, primary healthcare services, and protection monitoring, are all being provided alongside the food distribution for more than 20,000 people. In Kaikuny, Wiejchol and Buong, boreholes have been repaired and various water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) items have been provided, including soap and buckets.

In addition to the thousands of people displaced in northern Jonglei, more than 300 displaced people, mostly women and children, from Uror have arrived at the Protection of Civilians site in Bor. The new arrivals report fleeing for safety after being displaced multiple times since February 2017, when fighting broke out in Yuai and Uror Centre. They were first displaced from Yuai and Uror Centre to surrounding areas such as Motot and Pieri; when government forces advanced to Motot and Pieri, they were displaced to Watt; and when the government attacked Watt in April and May, they were displaced again. Some of the new arrivals in Bor indicated that elderly family members remain displaced in the bushlands of Payai, Pieri and Karam in Uror County, as they could not walk long distances. IDPs from Uror also reported cases of sexual and gender-based violence during the clashes.

People also reportedly continue to flee to Ethiopia, with more than 4,400 South Sudanese refugees arriving in Gambella between 13 April and 15 May. Eighty-five per cent of the new arrivals came from Upper Nile, whilst 14 per cent came from Jonglei (Uror, Akobo and Ayod counties).

Needs rising in Duk

Humanitarians are concerned regarding increasing needs in Duk County, where IDPs have recently arrived in Pajut, Padiet and Poktap from Uror, Ayod, Nyirol and Fangak counties in Jonglei and Bentiu in Unity. There are also reports of community members returning to Duk from areas they were displaced to throughout the course of the conflict, including Mingkaman, Bor and neighbouring countries.

A recent assessment found that over 82 per cent of households assessed had poor food consumption scores, indicative of severe food consumption gaps. The assessment also found negative coping strategies, including emergency selling of livestock, which not only depletes the population’s assets, but also reduces access to critical food sources, including meat and milk. Reliance on wild fruits and vegetables in the area is perceived to be above the lean norm standards, and community members reported reliance on certain types of wild vegetables, which are only consumed in emergency times when no other food sources exist. Duk is also experiencing a cholera outbreak. Registration is underway in Payuel and Padiet and food distribution is planned in the coming days.