South Sudan: UN, U.S., Europe Call for Action on Crisis

Expressing deep concern about the crisis in South Sudan and its impact on civilians, the top United Nations humanitarian official joined today with her counterparts from the United States and the European Union to urge more support for the war-torn country's people, who have been severely affected by conflict, displacement and food insecurity.

"We are here today to sound the alarm for South Sudan," said Valerie Amos, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), who co-chaired a Humanitarian Ministerial Meeting in Washington, D.C., with Rajiv Shah, Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and Kristalina Georgieva, European Union (EU) Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response.

"The effects of the conflict are significant- millions of people have been affected, cities have been destroyed, the economy has collapsed and food production has been devastated," said Ms. Amos in a joint press release, urging international action to end the crisis, which began in December 2013 when fighting broke out between Government and opposition forces, triggering massive population displacement.

"We fear a serious food and nutrition crisis in the next few months if the situation doesn't improve soon," she added.

With the rainy season fast approaching, aid agencies expect conditions will deteriorate rapidly. Malnutrition rates and the risk of diseases such as cholera and malaria are already extremely high, especially among displaced people.

The leaders issued a Call for Action on South Sudan urging immediate action on three critical fronts. The urged an end to the fighting, underscored the need for humanitarian funding over the next three months to help people cope with the crisis, and demanded that all parties to the conflict respect the South Sudanese people and abide by international humanitarian law.

"This declaration is a wake-up call to prevent a deeper catastrophe from unfolding in South Sudan," said Dr. Shah. "Today, indicators tell us that South Sudan is on the brink of famine, and it's clear that the world must now do more to address this crisis."

"We all celebrated with the world's newest nation when South Sudan became independent," said Ms. Georgieva, who stressed however than less than three years later, the world was witnessing a humanitarian disaster of appalling proportions.