The government of South Sudan says it is giving $10 million dollars to the World Food Program to mitigate the effect of flooding on the population and livelihood across the country.
The Vice President for Service Cluster Hussein Abdelbagi Akol announce the donation while addressing the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Thursday.
“To mitigate South Sudan is donating $10 million dollars to the WFP to elevate the suffering of the affected displaced communities,” he declared.
According to Abdelbagi, the impact of climate change and global warming has manifested in various parts in South Sudan with 70-80% of of the country sitting in flood waters for the last three years.
He said government analysis on food security between February and March this year shows that 6.83 million people which is 55.3% of the South Sudan population are facing acute food insecurity and additional 2.437 million are on emergency level.
“The severe food insecurity is worsen by the combined shocks that includes flooding, prolonged drought, physical insecurity and covid_19,” Abdelbagi said.
“We need the support of the international community to reach all the floods and drought affected areas and communities.”
Amidst rising humanitarian needs, South Sudan remains a hotspot country for humanitarian workers, according to UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Harassment and targeted killing of humanitarian workers has continuously been reported in South Sudan.
Abdelbagi told the general assembly that the government will engage humanitarian agencies to provide them with the necessary assurance.
“The President of the Republic of South Sudan will call aa conference of all humanitarian organization in South Sudan to coordinate the humanitarian activities. The government…is committed to providing security and protection to the relief workers,” he stated
The VP believes humanitarian challenges globally can be addressed jointly.
“Together, we can save our planet by playing our roles and supporting each other to mitigate effect of climate change and to come up with alternative method and solution based on available protocol,” Abdelbagi underscored.
