A girl child aged seven was found drowned in a stagnant pond in the ‘Protection of Civilians’ site in Bentiu on 28 December, according to a UN aid agency.
The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported in a humanitarian bulletin today that there have been four such drownings at the Bentiu site since September.
OCHA noted that aid organizations working in the fields of protection and child safety are now “responding to increase community awareness on the risk of swimming in ponds.”
Meanwhile, approximately 2,036 more people have recently arrived at the Bentiu PoC site in the week prior to 28 December. The total site population is 43,718 people as of 31 December, the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) reported today.
The UN plans to expand and “upgrade” the site as more people continue to arrive. As part of this expansion, most ponds in the PoC will be covered.
File photo: Bentiu Protection of Civilians site during the rainy season (UNICEF)
Related:
Water and sanitation improvements at Bentiu protection site (17 Nov.)
New drainage relieves flooding at Bentiu refugee camp (6 Sept.)
40,000 people trapped in flooded area in Bentiu (9 Aug.)