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Aid agencies in South Sudan need $166 million now to save lives

Countries
South Sudan
Sources
OCHA
Publication date

Juba, 25 December 2013: As the crisis in South Sudan evolves, aid agencies need US$166 million from now until March 2014 in order to address the immediate needs of people resulting from the past days’ violence. This includes emergency programmes for some 200,000 refugees from Sudan in Unity and Upper Nile states of South Sudan.

The resources will be used to provide clean water and sanitation, healthcare, shelter, and deliver food and livelihood assistance. It will also ensure that the rights of vulnerable people, including survivors of violence, are better protected. The money will be used to manage sites for displaced people and transport aid workers and supplies to strategic locations where communities are most at risk.

“This is an extremely difficult time for the people of this new nation, and it is crucial that aid agencies have the resources they need to save lives in the coming months,” said Toby Lanzer, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan. “There are at least 90,000 people who have been displaced in the past ten days. This includes 58,000 people who are sheltering in UN peacekeeping bases, a number which represents only a share of all the people we need to reach in the coming weeks.”

Aid agencies are already responding to the crisis and will further scale up their work in key locations with specialised staff and emergency supplies.

“In Bor and Bentiu this week, I have seen just how badly the communities caught in violence need our help,” continued Mr. Lanzer. “Our priorities are to stay, protect, and deliver. I hope that donors and compassionate people around the world act swiftly to give aid agencies the required resources to help the people of South Sudan at this critical juncture.”

The humanitarian community in South Sudan has re-prioritized its work for the coming months, as set out in the South Sudan Consolidated Appeal 2014-2016. $166 million represents the most urgently required resources from the overall $1.1 billion programme set out by the aid community for 2014.

For more information, contact:

Tapiwa Gomo, Head of Communication, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in South Sudan (gomo@un.org / +211 922406079)

Amanda Weyler, Reports Officer, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in South Sudan (weylera@un.org / +211 922473115)

The Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan can be followed on twitter.com/tobylanzer or @tobylanzer

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