JUBA, South Sudan: Humanitarian organizations in South Sudan said Monday that restricted access to the conflict-hit eastern state of Jonglei has left thousands of people in need of lifesaving medical care and food assistance at risk, as the United Nations raises concern over a growing number of displaced people.
The International Rescue Committee’s country director for South Sudan, Richard Orengo, said that “intensified fighting and the militarization of key areas have forced the suspension of services.”
Medical organization Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French name Médecins Sans Frontières, or MSF, said that the government has suspended all humanitarian flights, cutting off medical supplies, staff movement and emergency evacuations. At least 23 critically ill patients, including children and pregnant women, urgently require evacuation, MSF said.
The World Food Program, a Rome-based UN agency, has warned that escalating violence threatens to cut off food assistance to hundreds of thousands of people, as nearly 60 percent of Jonglei’s population is expected to face crisis-level hunger during the upcoming rainy season. The rains typically cut off access roads, and the violence has prevented the early delivery of aid.
