Twenty million US dollars have been given by humanitarian groups to help save the lives of about 290,000 of the most vulnerable people in four places in South Sudan.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced earlier this week that the South Sudan Humanitarian Fund had released funds to help vulnerable people in Aweil East in Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Nasir in Upper Nile, Rubkona in Unity, and Pibor in the Greater Pibor Administrative Area.
Anita Kiki Gbeho, who is in charge of humanitarian aid, said that about 700,000 people had come into the country since April 2023, when fighting broke out in Sudan.
She said that the humanitarian community was working to meet the most important needs of hundreds of thousands of people, including those who were fleeing the fighting in Sudan and those who were staying in safe places.
The allocation is the first of the year, and comes at a critical time to prevent the hunger in South Sudan from worsening. The country’s current lean season is expected to increase the levels of food insecurity and malnutrition.
Gbeho said that despite generous contributions from donors, additional funding was needed. Five months into the year, the 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan for South Sudan is less than 20 per cent funded, with US$327 received of the US$1.8 billion required.