Jonathan Veitch, UNICEF’s Representative in South Sudan, says there are 54 checkpoints between Juba and Bentiu, where trucks carrying humanitarian aid are often stopped and asked for money.

The UNICEF chief said this last Wednesday at a press conference inside the Embassy of Germany in Juba. He also disclosed that a driver for a vehicle carrying humanitarian aid was recently killed in an area near Bentiu, and he called on the government to look into this matter seriously.

Veitch's remarks echo those of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission Chairman Festus Mogae, who said last month that the average amount of money paid at these checkpoints for each truck delivering aid amounts to about 33,000 pounds.

“At this time of acute humanitarian need, any action that potentially complicates the difficulty of the humanitarian response is undesirable,” Mogae said.

Meanwhile, Germany has announced donations of three million euros for UNICEF South Sudan from the German government and two million for the German National Committee for UNICEF. The donations will go toward battling malaria and other diseases, supporting maternal and child health, and education.

Photo: Peter Benger, Chargé d’Affaires of the German Embassy (left) and Jonathan Veitch, UNICEF’s Representative in South Sudan (right)