South Sudan: Panyijiar communities will no longer use water from the rivers, thanks to the project of wash.

South Sudan: Some of households in Kol and Nyal payams no longer use water from the rivers or the swamp’s stagnant waters thanks to the project of wash services availability to Panyijiar communities.

Panyijiar County is one of the three counties of the Unity State. It borders Mayendit County to the northwest and Leer County to the northeast. It also borders Jonglei State to the east, Lakes State to the west and south, and Warrap State to the west. 2020, more than 1519 households (9114 persons: average HH size of 6 persons) were left homeless and fully depending on humanitarian assistance to survive in these two payams due to the flood situation (IRNA report, 2020).

Furthermore, communities in Kol and Nyal payams face multiple shocks, notably related to poor WASH   services. About 60% of the communities in the two mentioned payams do not have access to clean water. They are, therefore, obliged to fetch from rivers, ponds, and open wells or squarely in stagnant waters in the neighboring swamps. Consequently, even those with access to improved water sources do not often receive safe water by lack of appropriate maintenance and means of water purification.

Given that Kol and Nyal are frequently hit by floods, pathogen microorganisms’ reproduction (sources of infectious diseases) is enhanced. Public areas such as health centers, schools and markets are mostly victims of this situation. People attending in these above-mentioned public areas are facing great troubles to find disinfectant like chlorine to prevent themselves from these infectious diseases. Due to the lack of clean water in Kol and Nyal Payams water-borne diseases like acute watery diarrhea, typhoid and cholera outbreaks are frequently reported (Epidemiological bulletin, 2023). In addition, the dignity of women and girls is highly affected.

To tackle this dire humanitarian situation, UGEAFI is accelerating assistance to vulnerable communities in the payams of Kol and Nyal by improving their access to WASH services. To do so, this project will   rehabilitate in total 20 boreholes in Kol and Nyal Payams (12 in Nyal and 8 in Kol), raise the best hygiene practices awareness within the communities and favor the disinfection of public areas and water through the setting up of a chlorine production center. Once rehabilitated, the 20 boreholes will lift water up to 50 meters and will be designed to serve up to 300 people for a domestic consumption of 20-25 liters per person per day.