An Evaluation of Impacts and Sustainability of Humanitarian Organization’s Water Projects in Juba, South Sudan

Abstract

The civil war in South Sudan has affected the water supply infrastructure either completely destroying the water system or overstretching the system due to influx of the internally displaced persons. Many people are forced to use unsafe water sources such as the Nile River that passes through many states of South Sudan. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have moved to the region to provide the communities with safe water. One of such NGOs is Oxfam with a number of water projects and programmes in Juba, the capital of South Sudan. These include borehole drilling, construction of water treatment plant and training the community on proper sanitation and hygiene practices. Through household interviews, focused group discussions and participant observation, this study evaluated the impacts of Oxfam water projects in Juba with focus on the water treatment plant located in Gumbo, a district of Juba. Findings showed that there is a positive impact on the people in Gumbo in terms of eradication of waterborne diseases in children under the age of five years, girl child education and women empowerment. The hypothesis testing analysis results showed positive and significant linkage between the water treatment plant, education and women empowerment. The Fisher exact test revealed a significance level of p=0.025 on education and p=005 on women empowerment. There was also evidence of sustainability of the technology in use, financial sustainability and community training of the use of the facility. The findings also revealed the need for continuous funding of Non-governmental projects to increase safe water coverage and sanitation.