South Sudan receives $10 Million in humanitarian aid from the UN

The United Nations announced Thursday,May 22 that it has allotted $10 million to South Sudan,to provide over 270,000 people with life-saving humanitarian aid. The UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) aid will be used to support communities in six high-risk counties,according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

In a statement released in South Sudan’s capital,Juba,the OCHA stated “families in these areas are in dire need of immediate humanitarian support that has been severely impacted by overlapping crises.”

The OCHA had projected that between April and July,7.7 million people will experience severe acute food insecurity. It stated that the highest level of food insecurity is anticipated to affect roughly 63,000 people. According to UN humanitarian coordinator for South Sudan Anita Kiki Gbeho,“this much-needed and timely CERF funding will help mitigate acute vulnerabilities and protection risks through coordinated interventions led by United Nations agencies and their partners in South Sudan.”

Since the conflict in Upper Nile State escalated in March,the OCHA reported that over 130,000 people have been displaced,with thousands of them reportedly crossing into Ethiopia. It stated that the country is still experiencing its worst cholera outbreak on record,with 60,530 cases and 1,247 fatalities reported nationwide as of May 18,and that the current rainy season is predicted to cause significant flooding in areas that have already been impacted in prior years.