Juba - The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs have signed a USD 5 million agreement to support the implementation of a durable solutions project in Wau, Western Bahr el Ghazal State, South Sudan.

The project will aid the implementation of a road map prepared by the Governor of Western Bahr El Ghazal State to support the populations of Naivasha internally displaced people (IDP) camp and Hai Masna collective center to end their displacement situation. The State Government will coordinate the identification and facilitation of durable solutions for over 10,0000 IDPs. During the project, these households will be provided with support to make informed decisions on which durable solution they would like to pursue, including local integration, return or relocation. This may eventually result in the closure of the two camps. 

“The project makes a difference for the displaced people of Western Bahr el Ghazal to build up a normal life away from camp settings, make their own livelihood and build their permanent homes. This project will also serve as an example for other regions of South Sudan to facilitate the transition from a humanitarian situation to sustainable development” says Peter van der Auweraert, IOM South Sudan Chief of Mission.

The IDPs who will opt for local integration will further benefit from multi-sectoral assistance in the form of housing, including documentation for Housing Land and Property rights; Water Sanitation and Hygiene services; Protection and Health services; and livelihoods assistance, to enable people to become self-reliant. Those opting for return or relocation will benefit from referrals to other humanitarian and development partners for assistance.

“South Sudan has over 2,2 million displaced people within the country. With this program, we want to do our part to find durable solutions for displaced people. Importantly, this project will provide support to IDPs, empowering them to make informed decisions on the durable solution they would like to pursue. We hope this project can be a model on how to address the problem of displacement across the country”, says Ambassador Linken Nymann Berryman, Ambassador of Norway to South Sudan.

The two-year project will also benefit host communities, as it will support small community infrastructure projects and the host community members will also partly be included in livelihoods programming.

To ensure sustainability beyond the end of the project, rather than directly providing protection and health services, the project will build the capacity of local service providers, including local non-governmental protection and prevention of gender-based violence actors, health and education facilities and community structures for mental health and psychosocial support, as well as training for livelihoods activities.

This unique project will bring together all stakeholders, ensuring ownership at the Government and community level; link humanitarian and development support; and provide long term, sustainable solutions for displaced population.

For more information, please contact Nabie Loyce at IOM South Sudan; Tel: +211 912 380 115, Email: nloyce@iom.int