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UN warns of worsening humanitarian crisis in South Sudan, appeals for funding
Summary
United Nations officials warned that violence, food insecurity, disease and displacement have created a large and growing humanitarian emergency in South Sudan and appealed to member states for urgent funding to reach millions at risk.
The United Nations said Friday that South Sudan is at risk of slipping into widespread conflict while facing an escalating humanitarian crisis driven by violence, food insecurity, disease outbreaks and climate shocks.
The UN spokesperson said Secretary-General António Guterres “sounded the alarm” over the scale of need in South Sudan and warned that three out of four South Sudanese require assistance. “That is a humanitarian nightmare,” the spokesperson said, relaying the secretary-general’s remarks.
The appeal laid out figures intended to illustrate the crisis: tens of casualties and up to 120,000 people recently displaced; about 7.7 million people classified as severely food insecure; some 650,000 children under age 5 at risk of severe acute malnutrition; more than 42,000 reported cases of disease in an outbreak with nearly 800 deaths. The UN also said it has received roughly 10% of the $1.7 billion needed this year to reach 5.4 million people in South Sudan and reported about $174 million currently available for response operations.
The spokesperson said the UN’s Special Representative and head of the peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, Nicholas Haysom, recently met President Salva Kiir and conveyed concern that the country “risks slipping into widespread conflict” because of recent political and security developments. The spokesperson said Haysom offered “full support to help deescalate the tensions” and encouraged the president to take steps that would give South Sudanese confidence in the prospects for peace.
The briefing stressed that the crisis is being driven by a combination of violence, food shortages, political instability, climate shocks and disease outbreaks, as well as spillover from fighting in neighboring Sudan. The UN called on parties to put down their weapons and urged member states to provide resources quickly to stem the growing humanitarian emergency, particularly in light of current funding shortfalls.
The UN did not announce new programs or binding decisions at the briefing; officials urged swift international funding and political engagement to support humanitarian access and stabilization.
Less-urgent details reported at the briefing included the UN’s ongoing coordination with the African Union and regional guarantors of the peace agreement and continued monitoring by the UN peacekeeping mission.
