Concern Worldwide has built new solar-powered water systems in South Sudan which are preventing the spread of cholera amid a major outbreak. Over 465 people have died from the water-borne disease since an outbreak was declared in October in the East African nation.
The outbreak began in a town near the border with neighboring Sudan, which is dealing with its cholera epidemic during an ongoing conflict. Access to clean drinking water is critical to help prevent the spread of cholera which up until the end of November last year infected close to 734,000 people globally, causing 5,162 deaths.
In South Sudan, Concern received UNICEF funding to build two new water systems in Rubkona County. The water systems include wells, solar-powered pumps with backup batteries, elevated towers with water storage containers, taps, and drainage.
They also fixed four additional water pump stations that are providing clean water to almost 32,000 people. Many of those people were previously collecting water in stagnant brown-colored pools that made them very sick, according to local community leader, Nyagai Mut Bilroal.
“Life was very difficult because everyone was getting dirty water, but because of this new water system our lives have improved,” said Nyagai, who is one of over a million people who arrived from Sudan due to conflict that began there in April 2023. We can now manage domestic activities and we have water for drinking. If this facility was not here we would have had to migrate from the area.”
Nyagai said they still face many challenges, which include the need for more food to prevent malnutrition. Concern’s program manager who oversaw the water system’s construction, Khurshid Wisal, said the borehole was drilled 377 feet underground to reach the water source.
He said they worked closely with the authorities to ensure the site of the well was not contaminated by the hydrocarbons in this oil-rich area and to conduct continuous water quality testing.
He said they hope to get more funding from donors to build more water systems and further prevent the spread of waterborne diseases.
“Without safe water, it is not possible to control outbreaks and to ensure the good health and nutrition of people,” he said.
Concern has been operating in South Sudan since the nation was formed 13 years ago and has responded to its many humanitarian needs that followed a long history of conflict and displacement in the area.
Concern, which works in 26 countries, has also been supporting some of the 1.4 million people affected by flooding in the country last year due to heavy rains. South Sudan also had 2.7 million suspected cases of malaria in 2024 and 1,800 suspected malaria-related deaths.
In November, alarm was raised by the UN World Food Programme (WFP), the World Health Organisation, and UNICEF over the worsening hunger, malnutrition, and disease outbreaks in the world’s youngest nation.
The WFP warned that the food situation in South Sudan has reached critical levels, with more than half of the population already facing crisis-level hunger.
