People living in South Sudan's largest displacement camp, in Bentiu, face an uncertain future after the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) announced earlier this year that it would begin withdrawing peacekeeping troops who have been responsible for security.
Ever since armed conflict broke out in South Sudan in December 2013, thousands of people have taken refuge near the international peacekeeping troops on UNMISS bases in different parts of the country. These camps became known as Protection of Civilians sites.
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) runs a 116-bed hospital in Bentiu, where conditions in the camp remain very concerning. In 2019 and early 2020, MSF conducted a survey showing that fewer than 60 percent of families had their own water jug to clean up after using the toilet. The risks to health posed by poor water and sanitation services and substandard living conditions include diarrheal diseases, hepatitis E, cholera, typhoid fever, trachoma, and skin infections.