Water Crisis Hits Lol-Akuei Boma in Aweil East County

Residents of Lol-Akuei Boma in Baac Payam, Aweil East County, are appealing to the local government for urgent support to access clean drinking water. Community members say the area is facing a severe water shortage, forcing residents to fetch water from nearby swamps despite an ongoing cholera outbreak in South Sudan.

Speaking to the Aweil News Agency, community representative Deng Ajou Akoon said that at least three communities in greater Lol-Akuei lack access to safe drinking water.

“We are facing a serious drought in our area, particularly in Lol-Akuei. Greater Lol-Akuei is a large boma, yet it has only three hand pumps, and all of them have broken down,” Akoon said. “The hand pump in Malualdit broke down four months ago, the one in Roljong has been nonfunctional for a year, and the pump in Atuang has been out of service for the past three years.”

Akoon added that the community lacks the financial and technical capacity to repair the damaged hand pumps and is therefore calling on the government and humanitarian partners to intervene.

“To our sons and daughters, we know the government is facing many challenges, but if possible, we appeal for help to repair these hand pumps so that our people can at least access clean and safe water,” he concluded.