JUBA—Funding cuts have left about 150,000 internally displaced people in the Bentiu camp in Unity State and the Malakal camp in Upper Nile State at risk of cholera and other waterborne diseases due to reduced access to clean water, sanitation, and primary healthcare, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has warned.
The medical charity is urging donors and humanitarian organizations to act immediately to reverse critical funding shortfalls.
Foued Gamoudi, MSF deputy head of operations in South Sudan, stressed that sustained water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH), and healthcare services are essential to prevent a renewed public health emergency in those tow states.
“In Malakal, the clock is already running. The transfer of camps to government authorities does not remove the humanitarian needs of the people living there. As long as people remain in Bentiu and Malakal displacement sites, minimum WASH, health, food, and nutrition services must be maintained,” Gamoudi said in a statement extended to Sudans Post on Wednesday.
The aid cuts, Gamoudi warned, would leave internally displaced people increasingly vulnerable to cholera and other waterborne diseases due to inadequate access to clean water, sanitation, and essential healthcare services.
“This is an urgent call to donors to provide immediate funding to protect people’s dignity, avert a public health emergency, and prevent loss of life. Support must sustain safe water supplies, functioning latrines and desludging, adequate hand‑washing facilities, and primary healthcare,” he added.
Rebecca Abang, an MSF counsellor, noted that although cholera cases in areas supported by the organization have remained low since mid-2025, the underlying conditions that contributed to earlier outbreaks persist.
“Sometimes garbage remains uncollected for weeks, even months. Latrines are not always emptied, and waste flows into the drainage channels,” Abang said.
In September 2026, MSF, working alongside the Ministry of Health in Bentiu, vaccinated 102,251 people during a second round of oral cholera vaccinations, reaching nearly 75 percent of the target population.
However, Patrick Mayen Biel, MSF outreach manager in Bentiu, said vaccination is an important step, but it cannot work alone
“Without sustained access to safe drinking water, functioning latrines, and adequate sanitation, people will remain at risk of future outbreaks,” Biel said.
For her part, Nysunday Dobuol, a displaced woman living in the Bentiu camp, shared that residents have already endured conflict, flooding, and cholera outbreaks, while many remain unable to return home.
“I decided to get vaccinated to protect myself and my family, and now I encourage others to do the same because we do not want to lose more lives to cholera,” Dobuol said.
In Bentiu, MSF reported that the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is currently the only provider of WASH services and primary healthcare in the camp. However, the agency faces critical funding gaps following major cuts since 2024.
Although IOM’s funding for water and sanitation services has been temporarily extended by three months until March 2027, MSF warned that service continuation beyond that date remains highly uncertain without additional support.
The medical charity further warned that primary healthcare services are expected to face a severe gap starting in January 2027.
Similarly, in Malakal, Upper Nile State, IOM stands as the only water and sanitation provider. Due to restricted resources, MSF said the organization has had to prioritize water supply and desludging over latrine construction and garbage collection.
MSF warned that without additional funding, water supplies to about 40,000 people and desludging services for nearly 900 latrines could stop.
