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UN seeks $61 million to cover immediate needs after South Sudan floods

Países
Sudán del Sur
Fuentes
OCHA
Fecha de publicación

(Juba, 8 November 2019) The Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan, Alain Noudéhou, has concluded a visit to Pibor in Jonglei, where he met with people affected by the floods that are devastating a third of South Sudan’s counties.

“There is a real emergency unfolding in Pibor and many other areas. Clinics, schools, churches and police stations are under water. Entire communities are displaced, and if the waters continue to rise, they will be displaced again,” said Mr. Noudéhou. “Women told me that they are trying to find dry fire wood to cook anything they can find, but children are going hungry. They have shown remarkable resilience and dignity, but are finding it increasingly difficult to cope with the flooding,” the Humanitarian Coordinator added.

The United Nations and non-governmental organizations are responding with available resources meant for delivering assistance during the dry season in early 2020. Some US$61.5 million is urgently required to save lives, ensure the continuity of the response following the peak period and protect humanitarian gains made in 2019 from being lost. Further investments are needed in disaster risk reduction to avoid humanitarian needs in flood-prone areas in the future.

Mr. Noudéhou said: “Many donors have been generous and I call on others to join. I am releasing $10 million from the South Sudan Humanitarian Fund for immediate assistance in the worst-hit areas. The Emergency Relief Coordinator and UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, Mark Lowcock, has indicated that he will accept proposals for up to $15 million from the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund. This will allow us to assist over 600,000 people with emergency shelter, food, health services and clean water, as well as other life-saving support.”

Since July, more than 908,000 people have been affected by unusually heavy rainfall and subsequent flooding, of whom 620,000 people are in need of immediate humanitarian assistance. The Government of South Sudan declared a state of emergency in the affected areas on 27 October. The United Nations is coordinating a response in support of the Government in the most recently flooded counties in Jonglei, Upper Nile, Warrap, Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Unity, Lakes, and Central and Eastern Equatoria. More than 3 million people were in need of assistance in the flood-affected areas even before the flooding begun.

For further information, please contact:
Emmi Antinoja, Head of Communications, at antinoja@un.org / +211 921 296 333
Christina Corbett, Public Information Officer, at christina.corbett@un.org / +211 922 406 012
OCHA press releases are available at www.unocha.org. The latest OCHA flooding update is available at southsudan.humanitarianresponse.info.

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.