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Tribune News Network
Doha
Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) has recently completed a number of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) projects in the states of Central Equatoria and Northern Bahr El-Ghazal in South Sudan.
Benefiting up to 84,600 people, the projects are part of an initiative undertaken by QRCS and Adeso, an African charity and development agency, with funding from Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD).
The projects involve drilling artesian wells, setting up toilets with sewage pumps and providing hygiene kits to promote sanitation in the local community.
An inauguration ceremony was held at Al Amal Camp in the presence of QRCS's Eastern and Central Africa Coordinator Nawal Kamel and representatives of the ministries of health, water resources and social welfare in South Sudan. Chieftains, camp authorities, and representatives of international organisations also took part in the ceremony.
The participants praised QRCS's contributions to epidemic control efforts by securing clean water, sanitation and health education.
The purpose of such projects is to improve public health conditions and prevent pandemics in Africa. It is particularly important in South Sudan, where the humanitarian conditions of displaced populations are alarming due to the political unrest, which had a direct impact on infrastructure and basic services, including healthcare.
This is QRCS's first project in the newly independent South Sudan, which has been widely swept by cholera, diarrhoea and other communicable diseases. These outbreaks claimed many lives, especially women and children.
According to camp and health officials, QRCS is the first humanitarian organisation to reach out to this part of the country with much-needed water resources, sanitation facilities, and hygiene supplies.
