The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said it has been able to provide consistent primary health care in Greater Baggari area in Wau State for over a month.

Greater Baggari is an area south of Wau town that had been cut off from assistance for over a year. Shortly after the crisis erupted in June 2016, humanitarian access to Baggari – an hour’s drive from Wau town – was restricted.

The organization said in a statement on Tuesday that improved access in recent months has enabled it to reach people living further south with lifesaving assistance.

IOM further said it regained access to the area in August 2017 and conducted a distribution of shelter and relief items. “Although additional impediments continued to make access difficult in the weeks that followed, IOM and other relief agencies have had consistent access to the area since October,” the statement reads in part.

In response to dire needs, IOM said it opened a clinic in Farajallah, Greater Baggari, on 11 December 2017 and hired five people from the community to operate it.

Since December 2017, the organization said, the clinic has conducted over 970 consultations and seen an increase in the number of consultations as information of the clinic’s presence reaches communities living in remote areas.

“In addition to health and shelter assistance, IOM conducted a four-day water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) intervention in November last year to repair boreholes, conduct hygiene promotion and form water management committees. In the coming weeks, IOM will conduct further needs assessments in Baggari and continue providing much-needed aid,” it said.