UN calls for $61m to help South Sudan floods victims

November 8, 2019 (JUBA) – United Nations needs $61.5 million to save lives and help South Sudanese affected by over three months of rains that submerged entire communities and displaced thousands of people.

Unprecedented rainfall and devastating floods have affected over 900,000 people including displaced persons, according to IOM. Thousands of homes and shelters have been destroyed, but also there are fears the contaminated water will spark an outbreak of disease.

The Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan, Alain Noudéhou, Friday called for $61.5 million saying heaving flooding “has devastated one-third of all counties in the country”.

The UN Spokesman Stéphane Dujarric announced that the Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, will allocate up to $15 million from the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to scale up responses to flooding.

The funds will be used to help the 620,000 people most affected by providing emergency shelter, health care, food, water, hygiene and sanitation, as well as other support, Dujarric further said.

For its part, South Sudan’s Humanitarian Fund allocated $10 million for immediate assistance in the worst-hit area.

Earlier this month UN officials predicted that the rains would continue for another four to six weeks and put more people at risk.

Last October, South Sudanese government declared a state of emergency in 32 counties in Jonglei, Upper Nile, Warrap, Eastern Equatoria and Northern Bahr el Ghazal regions.

(ST)