Humanitarian organizations continue to face restrictions preventing them from reaching people in need outside Wau town.
On 15 September, a humanitarian team intending to deliver health, non-food items, water, sanitation and hygiene services outside Wau were denied access at a checkpoint in Baggari “despite assurances and a letter from authorities approving free access to areas outside of Wau,” according to a bulletin by the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs released today.
However, on the same day another team carrying out an assessment mission did reach to several other locations southwest of Wau by air.
“The team undertook nutrition screening, focus group discussions to gain a better understanding of the food security situation, and distribution of High Energy Biscuits to displaced people,” reads the bulletin.
The areas outside of Wau, where tens of thousands of people are thought to remain displaced, remain volatile. Clashes were reported in Bazia and Busseri, located south of Wau town, on 17 and 22 September.
More clashes took place yesterday at Bringi area, Radio Tamazuj reported.
Inside Wau town, nearly 39,800 people continue to seek shelter in various camp sites, including more than 24,300 who are sheltering at the UN protected site.
OCHA also says that the introduction of new bureaucratic requirements for the passage of humanitarian trucks out of Juba has delayed the delivery of vital assistance.
“The introduction of new bureaucratic requirements for transportation of medical supplies, and passage of humanitarian convoys out of Juba, has resulted in delays in the dispatch of vital humanitarian assistance,” the agency says.