9 October 2013 - The South Sudanese government and humanitarian agencies have been providing Jonglei State flood victims with much-needed food and other items, a World Food Organization (WFP) official said today in the capital Bor.

WFP has been responding to community needs based on the “Interagency Rapid Needs Assessment (IRNA)”, which was carried out in Jonglei following the onset of flooding there, said Yasuki Misawa, WFP Head of Office in Jonglei.

IRNA recommended that immediate short-term assistance be given to 939 of the most vulnerable displaced households in Bor. WFP and other agencies will provide similar assistance to other affected counties, pending ongoing assessments to determine sizes of communities affected by flooding.

Distribution began on 27 and 28 September, when WFP and the South African non-governmental organization (NGO) Joint Aid Management (JAM) gave 939 displaced Bor households 57.21 metric tons of food for a one and half month period, Mr. Misawa noted.

An additional 250 metric tons of food was sent to Fangak County from Malaka stockpiles last week.

In partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), WFP is also planning to provide “Food for Asset (FFA)” for the 286 most vulnerable displaced households in Baidit Payam (district) of Bor (based on the IRNA assessment). Under the programme, workers from these households would be given food for constructing a secondary dyke, and also provided with fishing twines, hooks and nets.

Gabriel Deng Ajak, Director for South Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (SSRRC) in Jonglei, said the South Sudan High Level Flood Management committee was also sending tents and mosquito nets to flood-affected communities. “Now we are providing assistance to Bor County and we will appeal for more (tents and mosquito nets), so that we will also be able to provide similar assistance to the rest of the counties.”

According to Director Ajak, nine out of the state’s 11 counties -- Bor, Twic, Uror, Duk, Ayod, Pigi, Pachalla, Nyirol and Fangak -- were affected by flooding.

Authorities in Jonglei’s Twic East County reported today that the flood water level there was continuing to rise rapidly.

So far, three Twic East County bridges have been damaged by floodwaters and become impassable, according to County Commissioner Dau Akoi Jurkuc. And hippopotami are threating populations in the county, as they seek grazing land in drier areas.

According to reports from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and SSRRC, over 100,000 people have been affected in Jonglei this year by flooding, which has also heightened children’s vulnerability to water- borne diseases.