Over 200,000 children flee homes in S. Sudan due to floods
November 17, 2019 (JUBA) – More than 200,000 children are have fled their homes in South Sudan due to heavy rains which started in July, Save the Children said Friday.
“The communities affected are already some of the most vulnerable in the country,” he further added.
An estimated over 900,000 people are reportedly affected by floods, which includes those displaced, those who have lost farmland and those who are cut off by floodwaters.
The flooding, according to aid agencies, has affected more than 30 counties in Jonglei, Upper Nile, Warrap, Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Unity, Lakes, Central and Eastern Equatoria.
The child rights entity said it is deeply concerned for the health of more than 420,000 people, including at least 200,000 children, who have been forced to flee their homes in the extraordinary and heavy rains and flooding that have persisted in the country since the beginning of July this year.
Meanwhile, Save the Children welcomed South Sudan’s declaration of the state of emergency in response to the current floods, urging government to support this commitment by releasing funds immediately to aid the response.
“We also call on the government of South Sudan to ensure that humanitarian access is supported so that those most at risk– in particular, children – can be urgently reached and protected,” the organization said in a statement.
It called on the international community to commit financial and other resources toward the response efforts to support vulnerable children and their families in the war-torn nation.
Last month, President Salva Kiir declared a state of emergency in Greater Bahr al-Ghazal, Upper Nile and Equatoria regions, and it made urgent appeals for humanitarian intervention.
$61 million is needed to save lives and respond to floods in South Sudan, the UN said last week.
(ST)