86,000 urgently need food in Jonglei state: official

February 17, 2016 (BOR) – More than 86,000 people are currently in urgent need for food assistance in Duk and Twic counties of South Sudan’s Jonglei state, an official from the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC), told Sudan Tribune Tuesday.

The state RRC acting director, James Jok, urged the humanitarian cluster to act swiftly by providing life-saving relief food and non-food items to returnees and the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Twic East’s Wernyol payam and Padiet payam in Duk county.

Jok, who led various humanitarian agencies to the area, said over 86,000 people were in dire need of food support as well as non-food items.

“The assessment was done successfully, we went to Duk padiet and also to Poktap and before we reached those places we passed by Wernyol where we got 21,000 returnees in Wernyol and in Duk Padiet payam which include Ayueldit and Duk Padiet, we got 65,000 people in which 88 percent of the population are IDPs from Uror and Nyirol,” he said.

Jok said he organised a meeting with the humanitarian cluster on 17 February to assign each agency specific roles of intervention to curb hunger in the area and develop a comprehensive strategy by Friday.

“Today, Wednesday, we will be able to discuss the draft report and then by Friday we will release the final reports that will determine what kind of intervention that each of the agency will,” stressed the RRC director.

He also urged the South Sudanese government to intervene on the side of infrastructures so that the health facilities and schools are constructed.

Over two million people, agencies say, were displaced during the 21-month old conflict that broke out in the world’s youngest nation since its start in mid-December 2013.

(ST)