The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan says that aid agencies will struggle to bring enough food into disaster-affected parts of the country before the start of seasonal rains that will largely shut down road transport. 

He is calling for funding for rapid action during the remaining part of the dry season.

“Aid workers are in a race against time to respond in areas previously cut off by fighting and rains, and to pre-position vital supplies ahead of the next rainy season,” said Eugene Owusu, Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan. “If we are unable to act now, the situation will be much worse, and the response will be much more costly in the months ahead.”

He added, “We are facing widespread food insecurity, malnutrition, displacement and disease. We need funding now to save lives, alleviate suffering and get supplies out before the rains set in again.”

In a press release, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs explained that this year the humanitarian response in South Sudan could cost more than $1.3 billion, but so far donors have only provided about 2% of that amount.

“I am deeply concerned that we are facing increasing needs with diminishing resources,” said Owusu. “The world must not let South Sudan become a forgotten crisis. Humanitarian partners are standing ready to respond, but they cannot do so without funding.”

File photo: UN-contracted trucks in Upper Nile State (Radio Tamazuj)