UN Relief Chief: Step up action now to avert famine in South Sudan

6 Mar 2017

UN Relief Chief: Step up action now to avert famine in South Sudan

Birungi Machrine and Philip Wani

 

06 March 2017, Juba - The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Stephen O’Brien, has said urgent action is needed to avert a possibility of pushing more than one million people on the brink of starvation in South Sudan.

 

He spoke to Radio Miraya, at the end of a two-day mission to South Sudan, sounding an alarm to maintain the ability of the people to be alive and for the children to live a life free of death threats.

 

Mr. O’Brien undertook the mission to assess the humanitarian situation in Ganyiel in Southern Unity, two weeks after the government and the United Nations declared a famine in this part of the country.

 

Describing what he saw Mr O’Brien said; “let’s not mince our words; people may die tonight because they can’t get food. It is nobody’s fault; he added, “That we have ended up in famine, other than the continuing conflict.” 

 

Mr. O’Brien stressed the need for peace “We need above all for this country’s guns to fall silent and for there to be peace, that’s the best humanitarian solution.” He said. “Those perpetuating the conflict need to realize that they are the cause of the famine and if you are a combatant of the war here in South Sudan, then you are a cause of the famine.”

 

He estimated that a million people in both Unity and possibly in Northern Bahl Ghazal and other parts of the country could very quickly descend to the point of starvation.

 

Armed conflict, displacement, missed cropping season, and livestock raiding have contributed to the Humanitarian crisis in South Sudan’s Unity area. Restricted access to some parts of the state has aggravated the situation even farther.

 

Mr. O’Brien, met with key government officials and also interacted with mothers carrying malnourished children. Touched by their situation, the humanitarian chief said access is critical for the humanitarian teams to reach the people in most need.

 

“We need to meet by having good, safe and unimpeded access.  Who can provide that for us? The government, and that’s the nature of the discussions I have been having here in South Sudan is to persuade as best as I can and to advocate for the people in need by getting good access.”

 

With only US$100 million of the required US$1.6 billion raised, Mr. O’Brien encouraged donors to step up now, contribute more cash to save the lives. 

 

“We don’t want to find that we get pictures on the television screens which mobilises the money because people are dying with little children with emaciated arms, we want to make sure that we maintain the ability of the people to stay alive and for those children to have a life which is not threatened by immediate death.”

 

Listen to Mr. Stephen O’Brien’s interview.