The International Organization for Migration in partnership with a European aid consortium is constructing light base camps in several remote areas of South Sudan.
According to the aid group, the new camps are meant to “increase the humanitarian presence in deep-field locations in South Sudan,” including in Melut, Koch, Leer and Wau Shilluk.
IOM is building the new camps with the help of International Humanitarian Partnership (IHP), a voluntary network of seven European emergency management agencies.
The aid group points out that the majority of South Sudan’s estimated 1.69 million internally displaced people are living in remote areas beyond displacement camps at UN bases.
“The light base camps allow relief workers to remain in areas of need for longer periods of time and support consistent humanitarian access. The tented camps provide accommodation and office space, as well as solar-powered electricity and sanitation facilities. IHP engineers and IOM technicians deploy and set up each camp, which is individually managed by a host organization,” IOM said in a statement last week.
The first of these “light base camps” was completed last month in Melut to host nearly 40 aid workers. IHP and IOM teams are also preparing to construct camps in other areas, including Unity’s Leer and Koch counties and in Upper Nile’s Wau Shilluk.
Photos courtesy of IOM