Critical funding gap: South Sudan life-saving services Bentiu and Malakal

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SITUATION OVERVIEW

Life-saving services for nearly 187,000 people in Bentiu and Malakal are at immediate risk of stopping in April 2026 due to severe funding shortfalls. Without urgent support, essential services – including clean water, sanitation, desludging, drainage pumping, dyke maintenance and basic health care – will cease, leaving already vulnerable communities without the minimum conditions required to survive.

Bentiu IDP Camp, Bentiu IDP Sites and Malakal Settlement have served as places of last resort for families displaced by conflict and disaster. While longer-term transition plans aim to gradually shift away from large camp settings, maintaining minimum services is essential to ensure that any transition remains safe and voluntary.

This comes at a moment of acute humanitarian fragility, marked by heightened insecurity, prolonged displacement, flooding, rising food insecurity and an ongoing cholera outbreak. The current dry season is a critical window to reinforce flood protection infrastructure. If drainage pumping and minimum dyke maintenance cannot be sustained, Bentiu IDP Camp will certainly flood during the upcoming rainy season, which would contaminate water sources, accelerate disease transmission and potentially trigger further displacement.

A $6 million funding gap threatens the continuation of these critical services. The shortfall is reflected in the South Sudan Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) 2026, and the IOM Crisis Response Plan. Rubkona and Malakal counties are hyper-prioritised locations in the 2026 HNRP, underscoring the urgency of sustaining life-saving assistance.

Source: https://reliefweb.int/report/south-sudan/critical-funding-gap-south-sudan-life-saving-services-bentiu-and-malakal