The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News | UNICEF , UNOG , UNITED NATIONS
UNOG Bi-weekly press briefing: South Sudan - Humanitarian Crisis - UNICEF
“We are going through the worst humanitarian crisis since independence”, says UNICEF ahead of South Sudan’s 10 years anniversary
A record 4,5 million children – two out of three – are in desperate need of humanitarian support, UNICEF warned today, ahead of the 10th anniversary of the country’s independence on July 9.
“We are actually going through the worst humanitarian crisis since independence 10 years ago”, said Mads Oyen, UNICEF’s Chief field operations in South Sudan, speaking today at a news briefing at the United Nations in Geneva.
With a child mortality rate being among one of the highest in the world with 1 in 10 children not expected to reach their fifth birthday, the Child Rights Agency is strongly appealing to donors to not reduce their contributions for UNICEF in South Sudan.
High levels of food insecurity are of particular concern. Some 1.4 million children are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition this year, the highest figure since 2013. More than 300,000 children – the highest number ever in the country – are expected to suffer from the worst form of malnutrition and are at risk of dying if treatment is not provided.
“There is nothing between humanitarian assistance and no assistance, and that is why we are appealing to donors to really put South Sudan in a separate category where we don’t cut, because any cuts again will result in immediate impact, because it is not a question of a weak government safety net, there is no safety net”, stated Mads Oyen.
According to UNICEF, there is no safety net on nutrition, on health, on water and sanitation and neither on child protection.
“Triggering factors include the continued violence and insecurity - both political violence and armed conflict - as well as inter-communal violence with breakdowns of law and order at local levels, with cycles of revenge killing, rapes and so on, as well as the impact of climate change and flooding”, said UNICEF’s Chief of field operations in South Sudan. The changing weather patterns are extremely disruptive in most difficult areas.
At the moment there are “8,3 million people need humanitarian assistance and 4,5 million of those are children. Those numbers have never been higher”.
Out of the USD 180 million funding appeal to assist the most vulnerable children this year, UNICEF has received so far only one third of it.
“South Sudan is really one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world and one of the most forgotten and we have the highest percentage of children in need in the world as part of the total population”.
The country has currently 3,2 million refugees outside and 1,6 million internally displaced people (IDP). South Sudan declared independence from Sudan in 2011, after two civil wars. Only two years after independence, the country fell into another civil war, which is estimated to have killed almost 400,000 people. Today South Sudan ranks 187th out of 189 on the Human Development Index, and 179 out of 180 on another leading index that measures public sector corruption.
-ends-
- Exterior wide shot, Palais des Nations flag alley, nations’ flags flying, a cloudy day.
- Wide shot, a near-empty Room XXVII in line with COVID-19 distancing measures, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Mads Oyen, Chief Field operations in South Sudan, UNICEF: “We are actually going through the worst humanitarian crisis since independence 10 years ago”.
- Medium shot, journalist with mask on laptop
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Mads Oyen, Chief Field operations in South Sudan, UNICEF: “There is nothing between humanitarian assistance and no assistance, and that is why we are appealing to donors to really put South Sudan in a separate category where we don’t cut, because any cuts again will result in immediate impact, because it is not a question of a weak government safety net, there is no safety net”.
- Medium shot, journalists in room filmed from behind
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Mads Oyen, Chief Field operations in South Sudan, UNICEF: “Triggering factors include the continued violence and insecurity - both political violence and armed conflict - as well as inter-communal violence with breakdowns of law and order at local levels, with cycles of revenge killing, rapes and so on, as well as the impact of climate change and flooding.”
- Medium shot, journalist with mask
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Mads Oyen, Chief Field operations in South Sudan, UNICEF: “8,3 million people need humanitarian assistance and 4,5 million of those are children. Those numbers have never been higher”.
- Medium shot, journalists in the room
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Mads Oyen, Chief Field operations in South Sudan, UNICEF: “South Sudan is really one of the worst humanitarian crisis in the world and one of the most forgotten and we have the highest percentage of children in need in the world as part of the total population”.
- Medium shot, monitor with podium in background
- Medium shot, journalist listening
- Medium shot, cameraman filming
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF , WHO
Two years of Gaza-Israel war bring ‘indescribable’ pain: UN humanitarians
Two years since the Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel, UN humanitarians on Tuesday reiterated calls for the release of all hostages in Gaza, an immediate ceasefire and an aid surge to alleviate Palestinians’ suffering, as talks on a US-driven peace plan continued in Egypt.
1
1
1
Edited News
Syria prison survivor seeks justice for the missing with UN backing.
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday warned that three and a half years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, the war in Ukraine has entered an even more dangerous and deadly stage for Ukrainian civilians, under relentless bombardment of their schools, hospitals, and shelters.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , WHO , ICRC
Quadcopter victims, terror and death: 30 minutes in a Gaza hospital
UN aid teams on Friday highlighted the disturbing situation in Gaza’s makeshift hospitals, where premature babies cry for scant oxygen and medics attempt to save child survivors targeted by airstrikes in their tents and quadcopter victims reportedly shot while fetching bread.
2
1
2
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday delivered his oral update to the UN Human Rights Council’s 60th session on the human rights situation in Haiti.
The High Commissioner welcomed Wednesday’s decision of the UN Security Council to strengthen the Multinational Security Support mission by transitioning to the Gang Suppression Force for Haiti, stating it is a strong signal of international support for the Haitian people.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF
Gaza: As world waits for US peace plan news, UN aid teams stress need for ceasefire
UN agencies reiterated calls for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza on Tuesday to help alleviate Palestinian suffering, as a new US 20-point plan raised hopes of a halt to the fighting.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
The ongoing Israeli military offensive in Gaza City continues to overwhelm the war-torn enclave’s medical professionals, with four more hospitals forced to shut down this month alone, the UN World Health Organization said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
A UN Human Rights report released today details the dire situation of thousands of civilians detained since Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine in 2022.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , UNICEF
Sudan war: Life-saving cholera vaccination campaign begins in Darfur
Amid the devastating war in Sudan, UN aid teams are overcoming major obstacles to curb a cholera outbreak claiming lives across the country, with young children particularly at risk.
2
1
2
Edited News , B-roll | UN WOMEN
Women and girls still reeling from Afghanistan's recent deadly earthquake face even greater suffering rebuilding their lives and livelihoods without much more help from the international community, UN Women said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Rising civilian casualties, growing ethnic violence and the grim humanitarian situation in Sudan underscore how the crisis there is deepening, according to a UN Human rights report published today.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNITED NATIONS
United Nations agencies staff demonstrates on Place des Nations in Geneva to denounce the killing of their colleagues in Gaza.