Urgent funding needed to address the humanitarian needs of 6.6 million people in South Sudan in 2021

(Juba, 16 March 2021) The humanitarian community today officially launched the South Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan for 2021. The plan requests US$1.7 billion to reach 6.6 million people with urgent life-saving assistance and protection by the end of the year.

In 2021, South Sudan is expected to experience again devastating flooding which affected almost 1 million people in both 2019 and 2020. The ongoing sub-national violence and localized conflicts in many parts of the country, combined with the disruptive impacts of the COVID-19 on markets, services and movements, have led to a substantial increase in vulnerabilities. As a result, South Sudan is facing its highest levels of food insecurity and malnutrition since independence 10 years ago. The upcoming lean season from May to July is expected to be the most severe on record.

“Conflict, displacement, loss of livelihoods, inability to reach health care and lack of access to schools have created urgent humanitarian and protection needs, especially for women and children,” Alain Noudéhou, the Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan, said.

“Throughout these various shocks, the affected communities have continued to demonstrate a great sense of solidarity. I call on the Government, development partners, donors and aid organizations to match their solidarity with unwavering support,” the Humanitarian Coordinator added.

“Our immediate priorities include sustaining our response in the most food insecure areas and preparing for the upcoming rainy season, which is forecasted to lead once again to major floods. Thousands of humanitarian workers – most of them South Sudanese – are working tirelessly to save lives and provide humanitarian assistance to people in the areas of greatest need. But we need urgent funding to prevent a further deterioration of the situation, and we need the violence to stop so that the people of South Sudan can finally recover from the crisis and rebuild their lives,” Mr. Noudéhou stated.

On the same day, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency launched the 2021 South Sudan Regional Refugee Response Plan, which seeks $1.2 billion for humanitarian partners to support 2.2 million South Sudanese refugees across five neighbouring countries.

Read the 2021 Humanitarian Response Plan here: https://bit.ly/3cy7IwM^[1]Learn about the highlights of the 2020 humanitarian response here: https://bit.ly/30F0gdp^[2]

References

1. ^{^} https://bit.ly/3cy7IwM (bit.ly)
2. ^{^} https://bit.ly/30F0gdp (bit.ly)