JUBA, June 11 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations humanitarian agency said on Tuesday that it has released 20 million U.S. dollars from the South Sudan Humanitarian Fund (SSHF) to provide life-saving assistance to 290,000 of South Sudan's most vulnerable people.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the funds will help the vulnerable people in Aweil East in Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Nasir in Upper Nile, Rubkona in Unity, and Pibor in the Greater Pibor Administrative Area.
UN Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan Anita Kiki Gbeho said people in these areas are facing some of the most extreme conditions in the country and need support.
"This allocation will help address their most urgent food security needs and strengthen the resilience of host communities and people who have returned home fleeing the conflict in Sudan," Gbeho said in a statement issued in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.
She said this first standard allocation of the year comes at a critical time to avert a further deterioration of living conditions for the people benefitting from the support.
The OCHA said the funding is particularly critical from August onward when the effects of the lean season (April to July) are expected to manifest in increased malnutrition rates and food insecurity.
"This allocation emphasizes the participation of affected communities to ensure that the chosen activities reflect their priorities and respond to urgent life-saving needs and improve resilience through livelihood support," the OCHA said.
It said the allocation is also intended to increase direct funding to national non-governmental organizations to promote localization and empower grassroots organizations.
"We are very grateful for continued donor contributions, which means we can help people facing acute needs. We request a further injection of funding to continue saving lives and to support recovery and resilience activities of communities," Gbeho said.
The UN agency said the 20-million-dollar allocation will build on and complement earlier funding allocations, including the 16 million dollars released from the Central Emergency Response Fund in September 2023 for famine prevention and the 17 million dollars allocated from the SSHF the same year for famine prevention in Rubkona County, Unity State. ■
