The UN World Food Program, through Plan International, has announced termination of the General Food Distribution (GFD) in Lakes State.
Mingkaman town in Awerial County of Lakes State has been home to over 100,000 IDPs who fled the 2013 conflict in Jonglei State.
This population has been depending majorly on UN relief food.
James Awan Parpiny, GFD supervisor at the Plan International in Mingkaman, says the program is coming to an end due to lack of funding from the main agency, WFP.
“We had discussion that if the GFD is conducted in September, it would go up to October, but there is no agreement in October and that is why we started it in August and end its in early September,” Parpiny told Mingkaman FM on Monday.
Reacting to the news of the termination of the GFD, Abeny Garang, an IDPs in Mingkaman, said they have not cultivated enough this year due to inadequate rainfall.
“The rains were so scarce this year and we were unable to produce our own food this year. The termination of GFD will affect us greatly,” said Ms Garang.
Another IDP, Mary Yar Garang stated that:
“The little we produce cannot take us for three months and this is our major worry now. I am appealing to UN to continue lobbying for funds to sustain us until we return to our homes.”
Meanwhile, Sultan Marol Garang Deng, IDP camp leader in Mingkaman, said he will write to the RRC in the state about their situation.
“We are IDPs and there was no integration nor repatriation that was done. We cannot be left like this. Our complaint must reach the national government because this will affect many people,” he stressed
In 2022, the General Food Distribution closed for four months after the agency faced the challenge of funding and later resumes in January this year.