The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is preparing to make airdrops of relief aid at specific locations in South Sudan, the organization said in a press release yesterday.

ICRC expects oncoming rains to complicate the delivery of aid as roads become impassable and aircraft landing strips turn into mud. The ICRC says airdrops will be used to bring in large quantities of food, seed and other essential aid.

“Our staff on the ground are assessing needs and making the necessary preparations to take delivery of the aid being dropped at specific locations,” said Franz Rauchenstein, head of the ICRC delegation in South Sudan.

“Together with South Sudan Red Cross volunteers and the local community, they will see to it that the aid is distributed fairly to those who need it most," he added.

This marks an historic milestone in the South Sudan relief effort because the last time the ICRC resorted to airdrops was in northern Afghanistan in 1997, the year after the Taliban took over the national capital Kabul.

The UN World Food Programme is the lead agency for food airdrops in South Sudan, but ICRC drops will be supplementing the UN effort.

Eric Marclay, the ICRC's head of operations for East Africa said, “Despite the massive aid effort already under way, the living conditions of displaced people in South Sudan remain alarming. Hundreds of thousands live in makeshift camps, their usual means of earning a living totally disrupted.”

Marclay pointed out that many have lost their cattle, and others are unable to resume their farming or fishing activities. “It's urgent that we take further action and ramp up our humanitarian effort,” he said.