The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News | UNHCR , OCHA , UNITED NATIONS , WFP
UNOG Bi-weekly press briefing South Sudan - Insecurity and Malnutrition Ocha - WFP - UNHCR 16 March 2021
South Sudanese “one step away from famine”, said World Food Programme (WFP)
As hunger levels continue to deepen in South Sudan due to a combination of violence, climate change and Covid-19, the 2021 South Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan was launched today aiming to reach 6.6 million people – including 350,000 refugees - with life-saving assistance and protection this year. The plan requests US$1.7 billion in funding to enable UN aid agencies and partners to deliver lifesaving assistance to the world’s youngest country.
“South Sudan is facing its highest levels of food insecurity and malnutrition since independence 10 years ago”, said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). “The South Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan for 2021, which is being launched today, aims to reach 6.6 million people at life-saving assistance and protection this year.”
The Humanitarian Response Plan has identified 8.3 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, including refugees, across the country. This is an 800,000-person increase in absolute numbers from the 7.5 million people in need in 2020.
“Violence and localized conflicts in many parts of the country also drive up humanitarian needs, and the impact again of COVID-19 on markets, services and people’s ability to move around have increased their vulnerability”, said OCHA’s Jens Laerke.
South Sudan is expected to see devastating flooding again this year. Last year and in 2019 flooding affected almost 1 million people. According to Jens Laerke, “the upcoming lean season in South Sudan from May to July is likely going to be the most severe on record and the immediate priorities in the response plan are to sustain the deliveries in the most food insecure areas and prepare for this upcoming raining season which could, again, be devastating.”
The World Food Programme (WFP) has painted an equally grim picture on South Sudan due to a toxic combination of escalating conflict, climate change and COVID-19 that could spell a hunger catastrophe for millions of already vulnerable people. WFP estimates that 60 percent of the population is increasingly hungry.
“Approximately 7.2 million South Sudanese have been pushed into severe food insecurity due again to sporadic violence, extreme weather and the economic impact of COVID-19”, said Tomson Phiri, spokesperson of the World Food Programme (WFP). He added that “this figure includes over 100,000 people who are in those hard-to-reach areas of 6 counties who are at risk of famine. They are literally one step away from famine according to the Famine Review Committee report.”
WFP has been scaling up its support in, Akobo, Pibor, Aweil west, Tonj North, Tonj South and Tonj East counties reaching 195,000 vulnerable people in early 2021.
“The World Food Programme has started to pre-position food stocks, again ahead of that rainy season, to ensure that crucial food assistance reaches the most vulnerable populations without delay during the lean season”, reported Mr. Phiri.
WFP plans to reach over 5 million people in South Sudan with food and nutrition assistance across its emergency, nutrition and livelihoods programmes.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is aiming to provide humanitarian assistance for more than 2,2 million South Sudanese refugees living in five neighbouring countries in 2021.
Millions of the world’s youngest nation are displaced either inside or outside South Sudan. “The crisis continues to be a children’s one with more than 65% of the refugee population being under 18”, said UNHCR’s spokesperson Babar Baloch.
While some progress has been made in implementing the latest peace agreement, humanitarian and protection needs remain high for the largest refugee situation on the African continent. The majority of South Sudanese refugees are hosted in relatively remote and under-developed areas. UNHCR’s Babar Baloch said that “the COVID-19 pandemic combined with the climate change related challenges including severe flooding, droughts and desert locust have compounded an already dire situation. Funding is urgently needed to provide life-sustaining assistance including shelter, access to safe-drinking water, education and health services.”
Food shortages are particularly acute with insufficient funding already leading to ration cuts impacting hundreds of thousands of refugees.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan and Uganda continue to host South Sudanese refugees and to take steps towards their inclusion in national systems.
- Exterior wide shot, Palais des Nations flag alley, nations’ flags flying, a cloudy day.
- Wide shot, podium with speakers in a near-empty Room XIV in line with COVID-19 distancing measures, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Jens Laerke, Spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “South Sudan is facing its highest levels of food insecurity and malnutrition since independence 10 years ago. The South Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan for 2021, which is being launched today, aims to reach 6.6 million people at life-saving assistance and protection this year.”
- Medium shot, podium with speakers, side shot, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Jens Laerke, Spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “Violence and localized conflicts in many parts of the country also drive up humanitarian needs, and the impact again of COVID-19 on markets, services and people’s ability to move around have increased their vulnerability.”
- Medium shot, podium with speakers and TV broadcasting, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Jens Laerke, Spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “So the upcoming lean season in South Sudan from May to July is likely going to be the most severe on record and the immediate priorities in the response plan are to sustain the deliveries in the most food insecure areas and prepare for this upcoming raining season which could, again, be devastating.”
- Medium shot, TV broadcasting in foreground and podium to rear, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Tomson Phiri, Spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP): “Approximately 7.2 million South Sudanese have been pushed into severe food insecurity due again to sporadic violence, extreme weather and the economic impact of COVID-19. This figure includes over 100,000 people who are in those hard-to-reach areas of 6 counties who are at risk of famine. They are literally one step away from famine according to the Famine Review Committee report.”
- Medium shot, journalist typing on laptop, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Tomson Phiri, Spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP): “The World Food Programme has started to pre-position food stocks, again ahead of that rainy season, to ensure that crucial food assistance reaches the most vulnerable populations without delay during the lean season.”
- Medium-wide shot, UNTV cameras and cameraman standing, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Babar Baloch, Spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR): “The crisis continues to be a children’s one with more than 65% of the refugee population being under 18.”
- Medium shot, journalist using listening device and typing on laptop, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Babar Baloch, Spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR): “The COVID-19 pandemic combined with the climate change related challenges including severe flooding, droughts and desert locust have compounded an already dire situation. Funding is urgently needed to provide life-sustaining assistance including shelter, access to safe-drinking water, education and health services.”
- Medium shot, journalist typing on phone, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- Medium shot, podium with speakers, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- Medium shot, podium with speakers in foreground and Room XIV to rear, Palais des Nations.
- Medium shot, TV broadcasting to rear, in-between two seats, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The appointment on Thursday of Karla Quintana as head of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic is a key development after nearly a year and a half of work by the UN Human Rights Office supporting the institution’s launch.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , UNICEF , UNRWA , WHO
The head of the UN migration agency stressed on Friday that Syria is in no position to take back millions of Syrians following the fall of the Assad regime, while there is an urgent need to “re-evaluate” sanctions impacting the war-ravaged country.
1
1
1
Edited News | IIIM , UNHCR
Syria: ‘Key priority’ is to preserve evidence of crimes – UN investigators
In Syria, new access to evidence of horrific human rights violations means that accountability may be closer than ever – if only proof can be preserved, a top UN investigator said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OSE , ICRC , UNHCR
Syria: UN and partners urge action to preserve evidence of prison atrocities, stabilize country
Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria five days ago, hundreds of people have rushed to Saydnaya prison, desperate to find loved ones. Disturbing images from the prison and other detention centers have since surfaced, exposing the “unimaginable barbarity Syrians have endured for years,” said Jenifer Fenton, spokesperson for the UN special envoy for Syria, on Friday.
1
1
2
Edited News | UNRWA
Gaza: “Sickening normalisation” of suffering, amid attacks on people and aid convoys
Ongoing military operations by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) in Gaza continue to devastate Palestinian children and families, with mounting casualties and a critical lack of humanitarian aid for the desperate population.
“Local media reporting here that last night, 30 people were killed in this area in strikes” said a senior emergency officer with the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Louise Wateridge, speaking to reporters in Geneva from central Gaza.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | OHCHR
Rights experts call for end to impunity for Israel’s violations of international law
Four independent human rights experts have jointly called for the international community to sanction Israel’s conduct of hostilities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as well as in the wider Middle East region - including in Syria, Lebanon and Iran. They also called for the restoration of trust in the international justice system through the abandonment of “extreme interpretations” and “double standards” in the application of the universal norms regulating the conduct of war.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNHCR
Syria: needs continue to grow amid highly uncertain situation, say aid teams
The historic power shift in Syria and the still volatile situation two days after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime have increased humanitarian needs in a country where nearly 17 million people, including millions of internally displaced, already depended on humanitarian aid before the recent events, UN aid teams said on Tuesday.
2
1
3
Edited News , Press Conferences | OSES
Barely 48 hours since opposition forces including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) swept into Damascus and forced out President Bashar al-Assad, the top UN negotiator tasked with helping Syrians’ create a peaceful and democratic future insisted that nothing could be taken for granted.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Monday called on States to do all in their power to end senseless conflicts and suffering.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
No evacuation order given before Kamal Adwan Hospital strike, says WHO
One of the last partially functional health centres in northern Gaza was reportedly hit again overnight into Friday by several strikes, leaving four health workers among the casualties and the dead, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO).
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | OCHA
More than 280,000 people have been uprooted in northwest Syria in a matter of days following the sudden and massive offensive into Government-controlled areas led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is sanctioned by the Security Council as a terrorist group.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has called on the Georgian authorities to respect and protect the rights to freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly following several nights of protests that were marred by violence, and dispersed using disproportionate, and in some cases unnecessary, force by the police in the capital, Tbilisi.