Médecins Sans Frontières says aid cuts and the withdrawal of agencies have left displaced people in two former UN protection sites without basic water, sanitation and health services. It is urging donors to restore funding before a new public health emergency develops.
Funding cuts and the withdrawal of aid organisations have left about 150,000 displaced people in the Bentiu and Malakal camps without basic water, sanitation and general health services, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said in a press release issued in Juba on 4 November. MSF warned that this is exposing residents to a growing risk of cholera and other waterborne diseases.
Both camps were set up in 2013, when people fleeing violence sought refuge at UN peacekeeping bases. Bentiu, in Unity State, was redesignated as a conventional displacement camp under government authority in 2021. Malakal, in Upper Nile State, was formally handed over in February 2026. "The transfer of camps to government authorities does not remove the humanitarian needs of the people living there," said Foued Gamoudi, MSF's deputy head of operations in South Sudan. "In Malakal, the clock is already running."
Services at risk
MSF said Bentiu camp, home to about 111,000 people, lies in a flood-prone area. Its assessment found about 60 people sharing each working latrine and only 109 handwashing stations for the whole camp. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is the only organisation still providing basic healthcare and water and sanitation services there. MSF said IOM's water and sanitation funding has been extended only until March 2027, and basic healthcare will become a major gap from January 2027.
In Malakal, MSF said IOM is now the only water and sanitation provider. Without new funding, water supplies to 40,000 people and the emptying of about 900 latrines could stop. The International Medical Corps, which supported nearly 100 births a month, has ended its services there. Local health authorities taking over lack supplies and staff, MSF said.
Cholera record
South Sudan has recorded nearly 110,000 cholera cases and 1,970 cholera deaths since 2024, according to MSF. More than 14,000 cases were recorded between January and September this year, and Rubkona county, where Bentiu is located, accounted for nearly a third of them. With the Ministry of Health, MSF vaccinated 102,251 people in Bentiu in September. "Vaccination is an important step, but it cannot work alone," said Patrick Mayen Biel, MSF's outreach manager in Bentiu.
MSF said major donors, including the UK, other European countries and the United States, have scaled back support even as renewed violence has driven up needs. Many residents say they cannot return home safely. In an IOM survey in February 2026, 55% of households in Bentiu said their intended destination was unsafe. MSF called on donors to fund water, latrines, desludging, handwashing facilities and primary healthcare immediately.
Image: Boys play football at sunset beside the UN compound in Malakal, South Sudan, 2018. Cpl Top Rai/UK Ministry of Defence, via Wikimedia Commons, Open Government Licence v1.0.