Urgent response at transit sites in South Sudan essential to prevent deadly outbreaks

“We are deeply concerned about the situation at the transit sites at a time when more people are expected to arrive due to intensified fighting in Sudan,” says Zakaria Mwatia, MSF head of mission in South Sudan.

“Given the growing impact of the Sudan crisis on people’s humanitarian needs in South Sudan, there is a pressing need to expand the delivery of aid. We urge international organisations and the authorities to strengthen humanitarian assistance to alleviate the suffering of those people affected by the crisis,” says Mwatia. 

Renk has two transit sites, both of which are dangerously overcrowded, with almost 30,000 people living in an area meant to host no more than 12,000 people. The transit site at Bulukat is smaller – it has consistently hosted around 5,000 people at any given time since last July – but people’s living conditions are equally harsh. Many families fled their homes with few or no belongings, and are now vulnerable to hunger, malnutrition and disease, exacerbated by inadequate shelter and the lack of clean water and sanitation facilities.