The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has pledged $1.082 million in relief items to support South Sudanese returnees fleeing the Sudan conflict, with the first batch set to arrive this month, a government official said.
Albino Akol Atak, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, disclosed this on Monday while updating the Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) on the humanitarian situation in the country.
Atak highlighted that the influx of refugees from the Sudan war has forced the government to seek humanitarian support from neighboring countries.
“As part of the response to the crisis in Sudan and the plight of returnees, including IDPs, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management has mobilized assistance from neighboring countries. Last year, under the directive of President Salva Kiir Mayardit, I led a high-level delegation to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait, delivering letters requesting their support for South Sudan,” Atak stated.
In response to a request from South Sudan, Saudi Arabia agreed to procure food items from within South Sudan and neighboring countries to support those affected by the conflict. “Saudi Arabia responded positively by providing essential food items and medicines to the returnees,” Atak stated.
He further explained, “The first batch of relief items, managed by the RRC, is expected to arrive in mid-June, with a second batch anticipated in October this year.”
Atak described the current humanitarian situation as dire, revealing that 9 million people in South Sudan require critical humanitarian services this year, with 7.1 million needing food assistance during the lean period.
He noted that out of the 2.3 million South Sudanese refugees in neighboring countries, about 1.3 million have already returned home, with over 500,000 people returning following the signing of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ACRSS).
“Additionally, over 700,000 people have returned from Sudan since the conflict began on April 15, 2023, and due to the unfavourable humanitarian and security situation in Ethiopia. We still have about 1 million people who are yet to return home through the South Sudan-European solution strategy and action plan for refugees, returnees, internally displaced persons, and host communities,” Atak said.