The Federal Government of Germany allocates additional aid money to South Sudan, where famine has been declared in parts of the country, according to a press release issued by the German Embassy in South Sudan on February 28.

Germany will provide EUR 40 million to South Sudan in addition to existing flows of humanitarian aid. East African countries receive in total EUR 100 million from Germany to fight drought and hunger.

“The current humanitarian crisis is heartbreaking,” the German Ambassador to the Republic of South Sudan, Johannes Lehne said. “We cannot watch as the people are starving.”

“It must be possible to fulfil the emergency appeal by the United Nations and to stabilise the situation,” Lehne said, adding that the “challenge is huge and additional private donations are needed as well”.

It is estimated that 100,000 people are starving and millions are in need of urgent support. The food crises in South Sudan is driven by over three years of violent conflict that have disrupted farming, destroyed food stores and forced people to flee their homes.

Ambassador Lehne urged all parties to stop fighting, respect the ceasefires declared by South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir and implement the peace agreement and the national dialog as promised. “We need to accelerate our efforts. The time for peace is now,” Lehne said.

The declaration of famine in parts of South Sudan is the first announcement of its kind since 2011. Yemen, northern Nigeria and Somalia are also on the brink of famine, warns the Famine Early Warning Systems network.

Photo: Johannes Lehne, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Republic of South Sudan. (German Embassy, Juba)