Kapoeta North County is an administrative division of

Eastern Equatoria Eastern Equatoria is a state in South Sudan. It has an area of 73,472 km². The capital is Torit. On October 1, 1972, the state was divided into Imatong and Namorunyang states and was re-established by a peace agreement signed on 22 Febru ...

. The principal settlement is

Riwoto Riwoto is a community in Eastern Equatoria state of South Sudan. It is a ''payam'' and village in Kapoeta North County. Location The community is on the road between Torit and Kapoeta, open in both the dry and rainy seasons. A local bus links Ri ...

and the largest ethnic group are the

Toposa people The Toposa are an ethnic group in South Sudan, living in the Greater Kapoeta region of the erstwhile Eastern Equatoria state. They have traditionally lived by herding cattle, sheep and goats, and in the past were involved in the ivory trade. They ...

. The county emblem is an elephant. Eastern Equatoria map

Government facilities

Kapoeta North is part of

Greater Kapoeta Greater Kapoeta is the name given to the eastern half of the erstwhile Eastern Equatoria State in South Sudan, at one time an administrative region with headquarters in the town of Kapoeta. Greater Kapoeta was divided between Kapoeta County and B ...

, and was part of Kapoeta County. After it was split off, in 2006 Kapoeta North County did not have an office building, and the administration was literally operating from under a tree. In March 2011 the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

Office for Project Services was inviting bids for construction of a prison complex in Kapoeta North County. In April 2011 the county was hit by a heavy rain and wind storm that caused extensive destruction. The primary and secondary schools, the police station, and about 60 houses were destroyed.

Water and health

The county had limited water supplies, and after many years of civil war about 40% of the water points were not functioning. As a result, diseases due to drinking unsafe water were common, including

guinea worm disease Dracunculiasis, also called Guinea-worm disease, is a parasitic infection by the Guinea worm, ''Dracunculus medinensis''. A person becomes infected by drinking water containing water fleas infected with guinea worm larvae. The worms penetrate th ...

, scabies, eye infections and diarrhoea. The situation has improved with assistance from NGOs and international aid organizations. However, at least 90% of the population still have no access to latrines and instead use the bush. In May 2009 elders and women in Riwoto held a two-day peaceful demonstration after their three boreholes had broken down almost a month before. The acting county commissioner Tito Abbas Lomoro said his office, working with the

Carter Center The Carter Center is a nongovernmental, not-for-profit organization founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. He and his wife Rosalynn Carter partnered with Emory University just after his defeat in the 1980 United States presidenti ...

, had commissioned urgent repairs. However, the repair technicians needed money and materials from the state government to do the work. In October 2010 it was reported that the Association for Aid and Relief, Japan had built two Urban Water Systems in Kapoeta North capable of supplying safe drinking water to more than 20,000 people daily. By 2009 there were less than 5,000 cases of

dracunculiasis Dracunculiasis, also called Guinea-worm disease, is a parasitic infection by the Guinea worm, ''Dracunculus medinensis''. A person becomes infected by drinking water containing water fleas infected with guinea worm larvae. The worms penetrate th ...

(Guinea worm disease) in the world, most in Eastern Equatoria state, and there were good prospects of completely eradicating the disease. The Guinea worm case containment center in Kapoeta North, operated by the Southern Sudan Guinea Worm Eradication Program assisted by the

, plays a central role in achieving this goal. Between January and March 2011 194 cases of dracunculiasis were reported from 93 villages and six counties in South Sudan. Of these, 43 were from Kapoeta North.

Miscellaneous

In June 2009 the Norwegian Peoples Aid organization donated 66,000 Sudanese Pounds to six farmers groups from the Lomeyan, Lokwamor, Paringa, Najie, Korkomuge and Chumakori ''payams''. The money was to be used to buy seeds and agricultural tools, and to cover other expenses. In the February 2011 referendum on becoming independent of Sudan, 99.93% of the 46,741 voters in Kapoeta North voted in favor.

References

{{Eastern Equatoria Counties of Eastern Equatoria