Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she has taken to ensure that basic water and sanitation services are available in the Bentiu camp for internally displaced persons in South Sudan.

In the last three years South Sudan has seen widespread and protracted flooding driven by abnormally intense and extensive rains. In Bentiu, climate and conflict have put more people in need of humanitarian support. Flood waters have also made the delivery of aid even more challenging, impacting supply routes including around the Bentiu Internally Displaced People (IDP) camp.

In December £500,000 of HMG humanitarian programme funding was reallocated to provide additional helicopter capacity so that humanitarian organisations could deliver aid to areas severely impacted by flooding, including Bentiu. We have also provided funding to different UN bodies and funds such as the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), which have allocated resources to Bentiu, and the World Food Programme who aim to support 37,000 people in Bentiu IDP camp. The South Sudan Humanitarian Fund that we contribute to has also recently allocated $2.3 million to support health, water and sanitation services for displaced people in Bentiu IDP camp. This additional funding which will support pregnant women, provide safe water and hygiene promotion, improve waste management, and help prevent further cases of hepatitis.