12 March 2014 - To give internally displaced people (IDPs) better shelter, UNMISS and humanitarian actors today moved the first batch of Juba IDPs from the mission’s base in Tomping to another in Jebel which is better protected from coming rains.

The move, organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) with force protection support from UNMISS, was part of efforts to better prepare displaced people for the rainy season, which IOM described yesterday as “a major humanitarian concern”.

“On 7 March, the first major rainfall of the season caused flooding and collapse of shelters at displacement sites in Juba,” said the IOM release. “IOM and partners are working to develop contingency planning to mitigate risks of flooding and associated health and safety concerns.”

Maker Kul, an IDP relocated today, said he felt safer staying in the protection site instead of returning to his home in Unity State, even though the security situation may have improved.

But Mr. Kul said he and his family were concerned about damaging effects of rain and had chosen to relocate to another site for the sake of their children.

“When it rained over the last few days, the situation became bad enough for us to be willing to move to another location that we think will be better for our children’s health which is already at risk,” said the father of five.

According to IOM Information and Reporting Officer Matthew Graydon in an interview with Radio Miraya today, humanitarian partners are also currently testing a shelter prototype for the rainy season.

He noted that the new design, which uses sandbags, floor elevation and additional framing materials to fortify existing shelters and reduce risks of flooding, was in the pilot phase. The plan of distribution will depend on availability of materials and conditions at different individual sites across the country, he added.

As the relocation exercise started today, hundreds of displaced foreign nationals from the old site moved to a new temporary site within the base in Jebel, as partners continued to find ways to decongest UNMISS bases.

“One of the big concerns is that there are so many people packed in these areas,” said Mr. Graydon. “There are plans on the way to start to decongest the sites… not just in Juba.”

Construction is also underway on a new temporary site adjacent to UN house, following an agreement signed by UNMISS and the governments of South Sudan and China last week.

The site, which will be built on 600,000 square meters of land provided by the South Sudanese government, with funding from Chinese companies, is expected to accommodate more than 10,000 people.