UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock was scheduled to join the High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, on a visit to Kakuma refugee camp and jointly launch the South Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan and the Regional Refugee Response Plan in Nairobi today.

Kakuma camp accommodates nearly 186,600 refugees and asylum-seekers, the majority of them, about 106,000 are from war-torn South Sudan.

Humanitarian needs in South Sudan continue to escalate, mainly due to conflict, displacement and food insecurity. More than two million South Sudanese are refugees in neighboring countries, while an estimated seven million people in South Sudan are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection.

Humanitarian partners in South Sudan said they need US$1.7 billion to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance to six million people across the country.