$1.7bn required for most vulnerable in S. Sudan in 2023
December 20, 2022 (JUBA) – At least S$1.7 billion is needed to provide life-saving assistance and livelihood support to 6.8 million of the most vulnerable people affected by conflict, climatic shocks and protracted displacement across South Sudan, the United Nations said on Tuesday.
The is part of the humanitarian community’s Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for 2023.
“Today’s launch reflects months of consultations and planning by humanitarians to ensure that we can respond to people’s needs in the face of competing global emergencies and dwindling funding,” Sara Beysolow Nyanti, the Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan said at the launching of the plan.
She added, “The people of South Sudan deserve more, and not just efforts that allow them to survive”.
According to the UN, endemic violence, ongoing conflict and floods continue to increase people’s vulnerabilities, leaving two-thirds of South Sudan’s population in need of humanitarian and protection assistance in 2023.
Eight million people, it noted, may be severely food-insecure at the peak of the lean season between April and July, with women and girls at risk of being attacked while carrying out their daily routines.
“Our immediate priorities in 2023 include sustaining our response to people with urgent humanitarian and protection needs, especially women, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities. Humanitarian partners need unimpeded and safe access to deliver timely and essential life-saving assistance,” stressed Nyanti.
“We also need urgent funding to prevent further deterioration of the humanitarian situation,” she added.
Meanwhile the humanitarian coordinator thanked donors, humanitarian partners as well as government counterparts for their support in 2022.
“We will continue to build bridges between short-term assistance, medium-term outcomes, and longer-term impact in 2023. But we need the violence to stop so that the people of South Sudan can rebuild their lives,” she concluded.
(ST)