Aid agencies need $ 1.05 billion to feed South Sudanese

August 9, 2013 (JUBA) – Aid agencies operating in South Sudan are in need of $1.05 billion to feed three million vulnerable people across the country.

According to a humanitarian funding update from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), as of 31 July, 58% of the required $1.05 billion had been realised.

However, OCHA says its partners in South Sudan still need $439 million to continue their work of saving lives and building the resilience of people across the country.

Jonglei state’s Pibor county is one of the areas where aid agencies say thousands of civilians displaced by conflict are in urgent need of assistance.

A recent humanitarian bulletin on South Sudan predicted a food crisis would hit the country between July and December.

Communities outside conflict-affected areas are also expected to face food insecurity, the UN agency said, although the levels will be lower compared to Pibor.

(ST)