Medicine Sans Frontiers or MSF says the ongoing insecurity, fighting, shelling and violence against civilians in and around Bentiu of Unity State force many Internally Displaced Persons or IDPs in United Nations Mission in South Sudan or UNMISS ‘Protection of Civilians’ site to remain inside.
MSF in a statement says the need for assistance to the civilian population in a place where they feel safe continues to increase.
It adds that MSF provides medical care to more than 100 thousand people in and around Bentiu, but that respect for humanitarian and medical facilities, staff and patients remains a challenge.
The agency reports that living conditions in ‘Protection of Civilians’ site were worse due to overcrowding, lack of water and sanitation during the last year’s rainy season when the camp was flooded with water levels above knees.
MSF says the flood forced many IDPs to sleep standing up with their children in arms.
It adds that several people drowned before the dry season when living conditions within the site improved as various aid organizations rushed to provide basic services to tens of thousands of IDPs.