By Baraka John
More than 600 internally displaced persons (IDPs), representing 104 households from Nadiagere Payam, have received emergency relief aid from the South Sudan Red Cross (SSRC) in Yambio. The humanitarian support, comprising both food and non-food items, was donated by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and distributed by SSRC’s Yambio branch.
The IDPs, who fled ongoing conflict in Nadiagere between February and April this year, are currently sheltering at the former South Sudan Hotel in Yambio under extremely poor conditions. The camp lacks adequate shelter, safe drinking water, and sanitation facilities, making life for the displaced particularly challenging.
The emergency items distributed include mosquito nets, sleeping mats, plastic sheeting for makeshift shelters, and laundry soap. Food rations consisted of sorghum, beans, cooking oil, sugar, and salt, basic yet vital provisions for families who had been without support for months.
Robert Singira, Branch Manager of SSRC Yambio, said the distribution was based on an urgent assessment of the IDPs’ dire living conditions.
“The report we shared with our headquarters today is when we are getting the response at least to cover 104 family heads that are camped here,” Singira told reporters on Friday. “We realized there was a lot of need lack of food, no toilets, no safe drinking water. People were using nearby bushes and fetching water from the Yambongo River.”
He added that the IDPs are also facing serious health concerns, especially among children who had spent months hiding in the bush.
“There is no medical facility here. Many of the children look sickly after spending four months in the wild. They need medical attention and general support,” he said.
A photo of SSRC staff giving out items to internally displaced.
Apai Michael, one of the displaced persons, echoed Singira’s concerns and highlighted the daily health struggles in the camp.
“We are suffering from diarrhea, coughing, malaria, and typhoid due to lack of clean water and poor hygiene,” Michael said. He thanked SSRC for the aid, noting
Fighting between the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in opposition [SPLA-IO] and the South Sudan People’s Defense Force erupted in parts of western Equatoria state following the removal of former governor Alfred Futuyo on February 10th, 2025.