World Vision in South Sudan responds to the influx of refugees and returnees from Sudan
The unrelenting crisis in Sudan has uprooted thousands of children and their families from their homes into forced migration within and out of the country, generating a severe humanitarian crisis across the region. As the conflict enters its second month, Sudanese refugees and South Sudanese returnees who have fled the borders need immediate life-saving assistance.
Such is the situation at the border point in Aweil in the Northern Bhar-El-Gazal state, where the people who are arriving are tired, weak, distressed, and hungry. Many continued to walk for days towards the Twic county in the Warrap, hoping they could live a safer and more peaceful life.
World Vision teams are on the ground and have been working closely with other humanitarian partners to address the needs of the people, both the refugees and the returnees.
In Twic County, World Vision, with support from the South Sudan Humanitarian Fund, is providing emergency nutrition to the refugees in Warrap state. This includes rapid mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) screening to identify children with malnutrition and treatment of children with diarrhea. Children with severe malnutrition levels are provided with ready-to-eat therapeutic food. World Vision is also conducting health consultations for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.
In the Aweil transit center, World Vision, together with UNHCR, has so far distributed essential supplies such as blankets, mats, cooking items, and hygiene kits, reaching approximately 1,470 people in 245 households as of 21 May 2023.
World Vision has also been responding to the critical needs of the South Sudanese returnees who arrived in Renk County in the Upper Nile region and have been staying in a returnee transit center in Malakal. Over the past weeks, World Vision has also set up water points, rehabilitated latrines in the area, and distributed food rations to the returnees.
Civilians continue to bear the brunt of the violence in Sudan. The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) estimate that over 1 million people are displaced within Sudan and its neighboring countries, including South Sudan. As of 21 May, over 67,000 individuals from Sudan had crossed the South Sudan border, and the number is expected to continue to rise.
Updates and photos by World Vision South Sudan staff