The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that more than 338,000 people in four key flashpoint areas in central South Sudan have received humanitarian assistance since famine had been declared in the Leer and Mayiandit counties on 20 February.
Last month, South Sudan government and UN agencies said some 100,000 people were facing starvation in the two counties of Leer and Mayiandit, while people in Koch and Panyijar nearby were considered at high risk of famine.
In a statement issued in Geneva on Friday, OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke, said over million people were on the brink of famine across the country but the humanitarian operations are hindered by local authorities.
“In the middle of the response since 20 February, 28 humanitarians had been advised to leave Mayiandit town by local authorities, following skirmishes north of the town,” Laerke said.
“Intensive negotiations had been undertaken to try to get the aid workers back, as they were critically needed in the response. However, renewed fighting had been reported on the outskirts of the town on 1 March and the 28 aid workers had not been able to return because of the continued fighting” he added.
The spokesman pointed to the shortage of funding, saying the overall requirements for South Sudan for 2017 were at USD 1.6 billion. He revealed that the UN had received 9.3 per cent of that amount.
“More funding was urgently needed, not least to respond in those areas where famine was already a reality” said Laerke.
Photo: People in conflict-affected areas of South Sudan collect food from WFP. (WFP/Peter Testuzza)