By Gibson Kamilio Bakuyo
BAZIA PAYAM, Western Bahr-el-Ghazal — More than 16,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) have arrived in Bazia Payam, following heavy fighting in surrounding areas, and are now living in desperate conditions — lacking food, shelter, water, sanitation and health care.
The bulk of those displaced are women, children and elderly people, forced to flee their homes after clashes erupted in neighboring counties. Among them are about 700 schoolchildren — 41 of whom are preparing for their Primary Eight leaving examinations.
A joint assessment mission conducted this week by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) together with state authorities found “acute food shortages, a lack of clean drinking water, very limited access to healthcare, and no access to education.”
According to the government health committee, conditions remain “dire” and will deteriorate further without immediate humanitarian assistance.
Locals are calling for urgent delivery of non-food items (NFIs), food supplies, shelter materials, safe drinking water and sanitation programmes. The lack of basic services and overcrowding are raising fears of disease outbreaks and long-term suffering.
“The scale of the crisis was greater than anyone had expected,” said the chairperson of the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission. “We appeal to all people to help.”
The displaced families — many having walked dozens of kilometers — remain in limbo, surviving under precarious conditions with no clear timeline for return. For children awaiting school exams and for vulnerable elders and mothers, the situation is growing more urgent by the day.
