![South Sudan’s Minister of Water Resources & Irrigation Pal Mai Deng speaks in an interview with Sudans Post in Cairo on Thursday, November 2, 2023. [Photo by Sudans Post]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sudanspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-39.png?resize=1295%2C841&quality=80&ssl=1)
The 2023 report the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) said that basic sanitation slightly reduced from 16% to 14%.
Open defecation cases, on the other hand, reportedly rose from 60% to 63%.
The joint report was released during a three-day joint sector review on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) workshop held in the South Sudan capital, Juba.
It said access to basic water supply declined from 41% in 2010 to 39% in 2020.
22% of the population have hand washing facilities with soap and water, it noted.
The report revealed that over 60% of South Sudan’s population had no access to safe and clean drinking water, with more than 7% still defecating in the open.
The Water Resources and Irrigation minister, Hon. Pal Mai Deng said the three-day conference developed a clear roadmap for transitioning from the humanitarian dependency syndrome to sustainable development in all sectors of the country.
“The government and development partners reiterated their commitment to achieving sector targets and announced progress towards sustainable development of the WASH sector,” he stated.
The Deputy Head of Mission Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Bouwe-Jan Smeding said major donors remain committed to supporting the people of South Sudan attain healthy, productive and prosperous communities where everyone has access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation services.
“To achieve the WASH targets, the government of South Sudan needs to take the lead in coordinating partner activities, increase funding to the sector and create one vision for WASH in South Sudan,” he added.
Meanwhile UNICEF’s Representative in South Sudan, Hamida Lasseko said it is the organization’s key priority to support and strengthen the WASH sector across the country to achieve sustainable WASH services and accelerate improvement on the sustainable development goals, citing water supply, sanitation and hygiene.
