Water Scarcity in South Sudan

Water Scarcity In South Sudan

By: Allison Servaes

South Sudan

Do you know which country in the world is the newest?

It is South Sudan. South Sudan is on the continent of Africa and is the youngest country in the world. It only became a country in 2011.

Since it is so new, South Sudan and its people have some problems. One of their biggest problems is water scarcity.

What is water scarcity?

Around the world, almost 1,000,000,000 (one billion) people do not have access to clean, safe drinking water.

This is water scarcity. 

Sometimes water scarcity happens because people in an area do not have enough water. Or the water they do have is not safe or clean.

Causes of Water Scarcity

There are three main factors causing South Sudan’s water scarcity. 

1. War

During the civil war , a lot of damage was done. Wells were destroyed in the fighting. There is still a lot of fighting going on that is keeping the government and other countries from helping to fix this problem.

2. Resources

South Sudan does have natural water sources . There are several rivers and the area floods often. But the country has not built the right things to help their people store and access the water sources.

3. Crowding

People moved out of smaller towns and rural areas to escape the fighting. Now they are crowding into big cities. This creates a shortage of water in those areas. Water wells are rare and not always clean. 

Effects

So what does all this mean for the normal person living in South Sudan? It means that they have to work really hard and long in order to get drinking water. 

Imagine you are thirsty and want a glass of water. You go to the cabinet, get a cup, go to the sink, turn it on, fill up the cup, and take a drink.

Or maybe you grab a plastic water bottle from the fridge. Pretty easy, right?

 But for some people, getting a drink is not so easy. In South Sudan it can take all day!

In places where clean, safe water is rare, women and children might have to work all day to find barely enough drinking water for their family.

Walking all day to the closest well, filling up a bucket with dirty brown water, and lugging it all the way home is how most girls in South Sudan spend every single day.

Getting water from a well far away takes a lot of time and keeps girls from going to school, doing other chores, and playing. 

It could be dangerous if they get kidnapped or hurt.

The water they find might be dirty or brown.  Contaminated water can make people sick, but many drink it anyway because they have no other choice.

One out of every three people in South Sudan use contaminated water every day. 

Solutions

So how to fix this problem?

South Sudan’s young government is still learning how to help its people.

For now, many people and countries are reaching out to help South Sudan during the water crisis. 

These organizations build wells, teach people and children, provide medicine and care, and many other things.

You can help South Sudan by teaching people about this beautiful young country and its struggles or by raising money to help these organizations.