S. Sudanese president in Delhi to attend India-Africa summit
October 28, 2015 (JUBA) – South Sudanese president Salva Kiir left for India Wednesday to participate in the 3rd Africa-India forum summit taking place in the capital, New Delhi.
Earlier on, however, there were several conflicting information regarding the visit of the South Sudanese leader to South Africa and while others claimed it was official, critics attributed it to his alleged poor health.
While in India, his spokesperson said, president Kiir would use the visit as an opportunity to interact with Asian and African leaders and brief them on the progress so far made in the implementation of the recent peace accord.
Conflict in the world’s youngest nation resulting from political differences about democratic reforms in the ruling party has placed nearly 4 million people at risk of facing starvation, aid agencies warned in a recent report.
If immediate action is not taken, the country could face famine in a matter of weeks, the report released on 4 October noted, with aid agencies further pleading with both government and opposition forces to respect the current ceasefire and give unrestricted access to the areas with people in need.
The war has forced about two million people from their homes, with tens of thousands killed. The United Nations has accused South Sudan government and rebel fighters of atrocities and “crimes against humanity”.
Meanwhile, the food security outlook for 2015 expressed great concern as it projected 2.5 million people to be in Crisis or Emergency from January to March 2015, nearly half in Greater Upper Nile. Severe challenges include early depletion of household food stocks, dysfunctional markets, loss of livelihoods, and displacement – all resulting from the protracted conflict.
The prevalence of global acute malnutrition (GAM) is cited as likely to remain above emergency thresholds (GAM >15%), especially in conflict-affected states. High levels of acute malnutrition are attributed to inadequate food consumption as well as other factors including morbidity, dietary and feeding habits, and constrained health and nutrition service delivery. The availability of nutrition information, including mortality data, has reportedly improved, but still remains a challenge.
In areas reached, humanitarian assistance has reduced the number of people in Crisis and Emergency phases. However, deliveries remain inconsistent due to logistical constraints during the rainy season, continued insecurity, and insufficient funding.
There is a short window of opportunity to take action before the end of the year when nearly half of households in Greater Upper Nile will have depleted their food stocks, and when new shocks may occur in the absence of humanitarian assistance
(ST)