The head of the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), Jean-Pierre Lacroix, is in South Sudan for a joint visit to the region with Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Horn of Africa.
According to a Monday press briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, the focus of the visit is on assessing progress made on the peace process and the preparations underway for the upcoming December elections-the country’s first since independence.
Speaking upon his arrival in Juba on Sunday, Lacroix said this is an important time for South Sudan and his visit is an expression of the UN family’s solidarity with the country.
“It is clear the region is facing many challenges, including hostilities in Sudan, which are having an impact on South Sudan, intercommunal tensions in Abyei, which we’ve talked to you about, as well as other issues such as the impact of climate change on communities,” he said.
Lacroix and Tetteh will visit Abyei later this week.
Concerning Sudan, Dujarric said the World Food Programme (WFP) is warning that at least 25 million people across Sudan, South Sudan, and Chad are struggling with soaring rates of hunger and malnutrition as the crisis in Sudan sends shockwaves around the region – at a time when WFP is facing an almost $300 million funding gap for the next six months.
“WFP says that people who are crossing to South Sudan or Chad are hungry and arriving with no resources. WFP had to prioritize scarce resources for new arrivals, this means pre-existing refugees no longer receive assistance,” he said. “We have been sounding the alarm for months now regarding the humanitarian situation in Sudan. There are 18 million acutely food insecure people within the country, most are trapped in areas of active fighting where WFP and aid agencies are struggling to maintain consistent access.”
Dujarric added: “To avoid a hunger catastrophe as we approach the lean season, our agencies need to be able to provide support to families in Sudan.”