Urgent aid mobilized for families displaced by South Sudan fighting
2016-07-14
© UNICEF/UNI185592/Rich
JUBA/ South Sudan/ HONG KONG, July 13, 2016 – UNICEF and partners are providing urgent life-saving assistance to thousands of people displaced by last weekend’s heavy fighting in Juba.
Four trucks of supplies were dispatched from UNICEF warehouses and taken to a UN displacement site in Juba as soon as movement became possible in the city earlier today. High-energy food bars were also distributed in two churches where families have gathered.
“The people hit hardest by this fighting are struggling to cope in appalling conditions,” said Mahimbo Mdoe, UNICEF’s Representative in South Sudan. “They are desperate for water, food and in need of medical assistance.”
The relief items dispatched today included supplies for the treatment of malnutrition as well as sanitation items such as water containers and soap. Primary health care kits as well as recreational items for children will be distributed tomorrow.
Teams from UNICEF and partners are also working to assess the extent of humanitarian needs and have begun family tracing for children who became separated from their parents as families fled the fighting. Plans are in place to assist up to 50,000 people affected by the conflict.
“We are responding and that response will continue to grow, but it is vital that we are able to reach everyone in need and for that we must have unrestricted humanitarian access,” said Mdoe.