The head of Handicap International’s emergency mission in South Sudan, Céline Lefebvre, visited a camp on the outskirts of the capital, Juba, where thousands of families are currently living in extremely crowded conditions, with no reliable access to basic services.
"What really struck me about the camp in Juba, where 18,000 people live, were the cramped conditions. There’s no space at all. Men, women and children, who’ve fled the fighting without really knowing where to go, don’t have any privacy at all," explains Céline Lefebvre, head of Handicap International’s mission in South Sudan.
"Families of six or seven are living in spaces no bigger than 6 square metres., sleeping in tents, often on the floor. I saw the United Nations pitching more tents for new families. These people thought they’d be safer here, but violent clashes between the conflict’s rival factions have spread to the camp".
"The lack of privacy and equipment - there’s very little lighting - makes it even less secure, particularly for women. There are so many displaced people, and the crisis developed so quickly, that their basic needs - care, access to food and water – aren’t always met".
"We’ve built wells and latrines, and another organisation is distributing nutrition bars, but there’s still a huge amount of work to be done. The hospitals are finding it hard to free up beds for the injured, because treated patients can’t be sent back to the camps, where they wouldn’t be followed up.”
After gaining its independence in July 2011 [1], South Sudan was immediately hit by a lack of basic services and an upsurge in violence, which had a major impact on the most vulnerable people, including people with disabilities, pregnant women, the injured and older people. Handicap International is deeply concerned by this situation.
"As soon as we arrived, we met displaced people to identify their most pressing needs,” explains Céline. “With support from our national staff (Handicap International has been operating in South Sudan since 2006), we’re planning our operations very carefully to ensure they meet the needs of the most vulnerable people".
Handicap International will use its expertise in crisis situations to identify and provide guidance to the most vulnerable people, in order to ensure they have access to humanitarian aid. This sometimes includes accompanying people with disabilities to care facilities or food distribution points. The organisation is also planning to provide rehabilitation care to the injured to speed up their recovery and to reduce their chances of developing a permanent disability.
These actions will be conducted around the city of Juba, where large numbers of displaced people are currently living, but also in Awerial and Bor, a town further to the north, which has been difficult to access due to the current instability.
Notes
1) South Sudan has serious structural problems, including a shortage of basic services, food insecurity, and land contaminated by mines and explosive remnants of war. Small arms are also in widespread circulation, posing a permanent threat to the population as a whole. Moreover, since the country was formed, 100,000 refugees and displaced people have decided to return to their land and now require assistance. Central Equatoria State is the state most contaminated by mines; it also has the highest number of victims of mines/explosive remnants of war and displaced people.