Flooded road in Rumbek East. Sept. 2024. (-)

Floods and highway insecurities across South Sudan in September 2024 worsened humanitarian access as 15 major supply routes were rendered impassable, impacting the delivery of essential humanitarian supplies to some 500,000 people, according to an agency.

UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said there were over 30 humanitarian access impediments last month, undermining the floods response and forcing relief organizations to resort to more costly air and river transport.

“Key access challenges included physical access constraints, violence against humanitarian personnel and assets, bureaucratic impediments and operational interference,” it said.

More than 890,000 people have been affected by flooding in 40 counties across South Sudan leading to massive displacement, loss of livelihoods and destruction of critical infrastructures, according to the UN humanitarian agency.

It further underscored that security situation along the Juba-Nimule Road, following an attack on a passenger bus, has posed a significant threat to the supply of essential goods to markets in Juba.

It stated that the abduction of humanitarian staff for ransom in Yei River County prompted MSF to suspend health services, leaving the population with reduced access to health care.

OCHA said other incidents that impeded access along major roads include ambushes, robberies, harassment and theft reported in the Equatoria region and the Abyei Administrative Area.

The UN agency points to bureaucratic impediments including multiple checkpoints along the Nile and the Sobat river, which it believes, continue to impact access to humanitarian assistance.

It also cites harassment of transport operators, interference with recruitment processes, boat seizures and the denial of access to quarrying sites in Malakal as factors delaying or increasing the cost of critical services.