Ukraine in Arabic | UN to save South Sudan from starving
KYIV/Ukraine in Arabic/ The UN deputy humanitarian chief Kyung-Wha Kang will undertake a three-day visit to visit South Sudan to draw attention to the humanitarian effects of its current crisis and to mobilize support to scale up and expand critical aid operations.
This will be Kang’s second visit to South Sudan in the past year.
"She will be meeting with communities affected by the [political] crisis, senior government officials and humanitarian partners," Jennifer Parton, public information officer at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told.
"She is also here to see ways of improving humanitarian access to the affected communities and the safety of civilians and aid workers," Parton added.
According to Parton, Kang on Thursday will visit communities in the rebel-held town of Lankien in Upper Nile State, Mingkaman in Lakes State and Bor in Jonglei State.
In a statement, the Juba office of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Kang's visit aimed to "draw attention to the humanitarian consequences of the current crisis and mobilize support to scale up and expand critical aid operations."
According to the statement, 1.9 million people have been displaced in South Sudan, including some 473,000 who have fled to neighboring countries due to the ongoing conflict.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs went on to note that millions of lives had been shattered by the crisis, families and communities wrenched apart, and livelihoods and infrastructure destroyed.
"Violence, hunger and disease continue to threaten millions of people across the country," it stated.
South Sudan, which became independent in 2011 after seceding from Sudan, descended into chaos and bloodshed late last year following an alleged coup attempt against President Salva Kiir by his sacked vice-president, Riek Machar.
Thousands of South Sudanese have since lost their lives in the conflict.
In recent months, the warring camps have held on-again, off-again peace talks in Addis Ababa sponsored by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, an East African regional block based in Djibouti.
