Bentiu IDP Camp Clinics Transferred to Government Control After 12 Years

(BENTIU) – Health care in Bentiu’s main displacement camp in Unity State is moving fully under government management, after the International Organization for Migration (IOM) handed over its final two primary health facilities in Rubkona County.

The transfer took place on 25 June 2026 and ends more than a decade of emergency health support led by IOM inside what is now Bentiu IDP Camp, the largest displacement site in South Sudan.

Since 2014, IOM supported facilities in the county have delivered over three million outpatient consultations, given more than 450,000 routine vaccine doses, and helped skilled midwives safely deliver over 36,000 babies.

The handover is a central part of the wider shift from humanitarian led services to nationally run systems. It aims to strengthen government ownership of health care while making sure that displaced families and host communities continue to receive essential services without interruption.

Thousands of people still live in Bentiu IDP Camp and humanitarian needs remain high, but strengthening government leadership in service delivery is seen as a critical step toward longer term recovery and resilience for communities affected by displacement.

Dr Mary Auma, Migration Health Programme Coordinator at IOM South Sudan, said the organisation had stood with the people of Bentiu through some of the most challenging periods in the country’s recent history, including waves of conflict, flooding and disease outbreaks.

She said the handover opens a new phase of partnership with the Government. IOM will continue working closely with the Ministry of Health during the transition to help ensure continuity of care while building national capacity to lead health services in the years ahead.

IOM plans to complete the transition of all health service delivery inside the camp by the end of the year, while continuing to offer technical support as needed.

The move is part of the organisation’s broader commitment to supporting government leadership, strengthening national systems and creating conditions for durable solutions that allow displaced communities to rebuild their lives with greater stability and dignity.

Health services in Bentiu and Rubkona over the years have been funded by donors and partners, including the United States Government, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Canadian Humanitarian Assistance Fund, German Federal Foreign Office, European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, the Government of Norway, and GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance.