27 January 2014 - Seeking to draw attention to humanitarian consequences of the South Sudan crisis and mobilize support for much-needed assistance, UN Humanitarian chief Valerie Amos arrived in Juba today.

Ms. Amos is expected to meet government officials and humanitarian partners during her three-day visit to the country to discuss ways of scaling up relief assistance and improve access to communities in need.

“She will underscore the importance of ensuring the protection of civilians and of aid workers,” said a statement from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

According to a 23 January report issued by OCHA, there are an estimated 575,500 internally displaced people in the country, following fighting that broke out between pro- and anti-government forces on 15 December.

“As of 26 January, a total of 76,487 civilians are seeking protection in eight bases,” an update from UNMISS said today. “This is the highest number of civilians sheltered on UNMISS protection of civilians sites since the crisis started.”

Ms. Amos is expected to travel to Upper Nile State, where hundreds of thousands of people remain displaced.

The state saw the greatest increase in reported displacement between 19 to 23 January, with over 100,000 people now reportedly displaced, the OCHA report said. Of these, an estimated 27,000 are seeking refuge in the UN base.

Another 36,242 IDPs are in the UNMISS bases in Juba and 10,238 in the base in Bor, while only 2,000 civilians remain on the base in the Unity State capital Bentiu, said the UNMISS update.

During the visit to Bentiu last week, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General (DSRSG) Raisedon Zenenga said more than 8,000 of 10,000 civilians that were in the UNMISS protection sites had returned to their villages after government forces regained control of the town.

Aid organizations have assisted over 250,000 people so far and partners have secured $109 million for the South Sudan crisis plan.

“Several donors have pledged additional resources which are awaiting disbursement,” the OCHA report said. “Clusters are currently reviewing the response plan against increasing needs with a view to extending it to June 2014.”

DSRSG Zenenga and Humanitarian Coordinator Toby Lanzer tweeted today that, although the crisis response was targeting 400,000 IDPs as the planning figure up to 31 March, there were “already more IDPs so we’ll issue a revision shortly”.