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“No water, no life. No blue, no green.”- Sylvia Earle
(Water points at UN House, Juba, Feb 2014. Photo by: Petterik Wiggers, Hollandse Hoogte)
The South Sudanese refugee crisis, being the third largest in the world, erupted around 2011, during the chaos in which South Sudan achieved its independence from the Republic of Sudan. Since then, the issue of clean water and hygiene facilities has been a prominent and anxious one as millions of civilians currently lack access to basic sanitation and water resources[1].
According to the 2019 humanitarian needs and key figures provided by the United Nations Office of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), there are currently 2 million internally displaced civilians within South Sudan, 2.2 million refugees in neighboring countries, and approximately 300,000 refugees within South Sudan itself[2].
Since 2018, the water, sanitation, and hygiene issue has neither been improved nor expanded for the civilians of South Sudan. Despite the 7 percent increase in WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) facilities across South Sudan, there is still a massive 5,712,000 civilians without access to proper sanitation facilities, clean water, or the modes and products to maintain hygiene[3].
The issue of the lack of availability of WASH services is largely rooted in the scarcity of easily accessible or near-by water sources. For the miniscule 29% of the population that does have access to clean water sources, some must expect up to 30 minutes of travel time to the nearest tap-stand, water yard, or borehole[4].
Atop the issue of accessibility within the WASH facility program, there is also the unfortunate surge of waterborne diseases and infection within South Sudan. With the issue of frequent open defecation outdoors, illness has become a prominent complication[5]. According to OCHA data, 3 in every 4 South Sudanese civilians suffers of a waterborne disease[6]. Simply distributing items like mosquito nets, jerry cans, and soap can greatly help this issue, and yet only 13 percent of the population has access to these items through the WASH facilities program[7]. The scarcity of these WASH resources, and in particular clean water, has taken a horribly inhumane toll on the civilians of South Sudan.
Water for South Sudan, an organization devoted to fundraising for clean water facilities across South Sudan initiated a program called the “Iron Giraffe Challenge” in which it calls on schools all across the world to help fundraise for the clean water mission in South Sudan[8]. So far, hundreds of schools across the world from Egypt to the US to Iceland have raised money for clean water in South Sudan[9].
The mission for Water for South Sudan is to stop deaths due to dirty water and waterborne diseases, to make water accessible rather than a 30-minute walk in a hot, dusty climate, and to help make hygiene an easier task for civilians in South Sudan[10].
The mission initially began with a man named Salva, born in Sudan, and eventually given the opportunity to live with an adopted family in the United States. Living in Sudan, Salva was a “lost boy” travelling between refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia. Salva now devotes his life to saving those who are threatened every day by waterborne diseases, parasites, and death due to the lack of WASH facilities[11].
To help support Salva’s cause, check out the Water for South Sudan website to donate or help fundraise: https://www.waterforsouthsudan.org.
REFERENCES:
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), South Sudan 2019 Humanitarian Needs Overview, 2019, https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/South_Sudan_2019_Humanitarian_Needs_Overview.pdf.
"Water For South Sudan." Water For South Sudan. Accessed February 05, 2019. https://www.waterforsouthsudan.org/.
[1] South Sudan 2019 Humanitarian Needs Overview, p.28
[2] Ibid., p. 1.
[3] Ibid., p.28.
[4] Ibid., p.28.
[5] Ibid., p.28.
[6] Ibid., p.28.
[7] Ibid., p.28.
[8] Water for South Sudan, https://www.waterforsouthsudan.org/.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Ibid.