UNHCR Hands Over Health and School Facilities in Aweil West

(AWEIL WEST COUNTY) – Health and education facilities built to serve refugees, returnees and host families have been officially handed over to state authorities in Northern Bahr El Ghazal, in a move set to strengthen local services and ease pressure on host communities.

At a ceremony in Aweil West County, the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, transferred control of medical and school infrastructure to the state government and the local community. The facilities are designed to support peaceful coexistence and development in an area that has received more than 35,000 refugees fleeing the conflict in Sudan since April 2023.

UNHCR South Sudan Deputy Representative Mesfin Degefu welcomed the strengthened partnership between the government and humanitarian agencies under the UN Area Based Coordination approach. He described the handover as the delivery of two pillars that will support peaceful coexistence and development in Aweil West, namely access to education and lifesaving health care.

At Nyamlel County Hospital, the handover included medical equipment, an operating theatre and a blood bank. Also transferred were an expanded outpatient department, a laboratory, a vaccination unit, a pharmacy, a solar powered water yard that also serves nearby host families and a 25 kilovolt ampere solar power system to keep the facility running through the night.

At Salvation Primary School in Wedweil, four new classrooms and water, sanitation and hygiene facilities for boys and girls will provide every refugee, returnee and host child with a place to learn.

The State Minister of Health for Northern Bahr El Ghazal said development must start with the community. Many of the foundations at Nyamlel Hospital were laid by community members themselves. The African Development Bank Group funded the construction and completion of the facilities, while the European Union provided essential medical equipment for the hospital and a chain link fence for the hospital and school.

Together, these facilities will serve refugees, returnees and the host community of Aweil West County.