In order to provide assistance to humanitarian organisations and ensure support for activities in these critical areas throughout the year, the Logistics Cluster has initiated an inter-agency river transport service along the White Nile, travelling northbound from Juba into Jonglei and Upper Nile States.
Logistical challenges in South Sudan are not difficult to find. With a limited road network in place, road access is problematic for much of the country, and is hampered further by the fact that more than half of all roads are inaccessible at some point each year due to annual rains, conflict, and poor road conditions. The north-east of the country in particular suffers from isolation each wet season as the rains return the area to swamplands, cutting off all road access in the process.
In order to provide assistance to humanitarian organisations and ensure support for activities in these critical areas throughout the year, the Logistics Cluster has initiated an inter-agency river transport service along the White Nile, travelling northbound from Juba into Jonglei and Upper Nile States. With only one bridge spanning the White Nile in the whole of the country, the barge provides not only transportation from north to south, but facilitates a transport link between east and west by docking at ports on both sides of the river.Additionally, more than simply filling a gap in infrastructure, this service is proving essential in maintaining the humanitarian pipeline into Upper Nile State, pushing downriver the relief cargo necessary to address the needs of recent returnees from the north.
On Sunday 18 September, a humanitarian barge departed Juba with more than 150 mt of emergency relief items from five humanitarian organisations on board including tents, vehicles, medical supplies, one boat, construction equipment, water tanks, engine oil and various other NFIs. These are urgently needed the field; in recent months more than 350,000 returnees have been repatriated from the Republic of Sudan, placing additional stress on areas already affected by violence, food shortages and poor access to safe drinking water.
This was the second inter-agency barge to have departed from Juba in as many months, feeding into additional boat, truck and warehousing services available through the Logistics Cluster. With consolidation of a third barge already underway, and demand for the service remaining high, the Logistics Cluster, in cooperation with numerous humanitarian organisations, continues to focus on providing essential relief for thousands of South Sudanese.