The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News | OCHA
Bi-weekly Press Briefing: Flooding in South Sudan and Sudan - OCHA 01 October 2021
South Sudan and Sudan experiencing severe seasonal flooding with their relief pipelines at risk of breaking, warns the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
Almost half a million people are affected by flooding along the Nile and Lol rivers and Sudd marshlands so far in 2021. Immediate pipeline breaks are expected in water, sanitation and hygiene supplies, emergency shelter and non-food items in coming months if not replenished, said Jens Laerke, OCHA’s spokesperson, at a news briefing today at the United Nations in Geneva.
“In South Sudan, OCHA has received reports of almost half a million people affected by flooding along the Nile and Lol rivers and Sudd marshlands so far this year”, Laerke said. He added that “Humanitarian teams are helping those in need. Jonglei, Unity, Northern Bahr el Ghazal and Upper Nile are the worst affected states. These are also states with a high proportion of people facing crisis and emergency food insecurity.”
The UN and NGOs have been responding with food, water purification tablets, plastic sheeting for temporary shelter, mosquito nets, medical supplies and other assistance.
According to Jens Laerke, “access is a major challenge, though, with most of the flood-affected areas inaccessible by road, and the transport of aid by air is very costly.”
The people affected by flooding reflects a 23 per cent increase in the numbers of people reported to be affected since the end of August.
“Some of the flood-affected counties are also affected by ongoing violence, which creates significant challenges for the people affected and the humanitarians who try to respond to their needs”, Laerke said.
Rapid needs assessments have been completed in 15 of the 22 counties affected by the flooding in South Sudan. Humanitarians are responding to the needs of people in most of the flood-affected counties. “Dikes repaired in Bor South and Pibor ahead of the floods seem to have helped to protect many areas from flooding since May”, Laerke noted. “However, water levels are now dangerously high in both counties and many dikes are close to overflowing. If that happens, the impact on people already deemed vulnerable due to previous years of flooding, violence, and food insecurity will be devastating.”
The US$1.7 billion response plan for South Sudan is currently 61 per cent funded.
In Sudan, more than 314,000 people have also been affected by heavy rains since July.
Fourteen states out of 18 in Sudan have been hit by the floods and the number of people affected has increased more than five-fold since the end of August. White Nile, Gedaref and Aj Jazirah states in the south-east are the worst hit.
The UN in Sudan has made projections for the remainder of the year and warns that without additional resources, 330,000 people would not receive adequate water, sanitation and hygiene support, 290,000 would be left without a shelter response; and over a quarter of a million people would be deprived of essential health services.
-ends-
- Exterior wide shot, United Nations flag flying.
- Wide shot, inside the bi-weekly press conference room, participants.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Jens Laerke, Spokesperson, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “In South Sudan, OCHA has received reports of almost half a million people affected by flooding along the Nile, Lol rivers and Sudd marshlands so far this year. Jonglei, Unity, Northern Bahr el Ghazal and Upper Nile are the worst affected States. These are also States with a high proportion of people facing crisis and emergency food insecurity.”
- Medium shot, speakers at podium and briefing broadcast on large-screen TV.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Jens Laerke, Spokesperson, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “Access is a major challenge, though, with most of the flood-affected areas inaccessible by road, and the transport of aid by air is very costly.”
- Medium shot, speakers at podium and briefing broadcast on large-screen TV.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Jens Laerke, Spokesperson, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “Some of the flood-affected counties are also affected by ongoing violence, which creates significant challenges for the people affected and the humanitarians who try to respond to their needs.”
- Close shot of the hand of one of the participants.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Jens Laerke, Spokesperson, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “Dikes repaired in Bor South and Pibor ahead of the floods seem to have helped to protect many areas from flooding since May. However, water levels are now dangerously high in both counties and many dikes are close to overflowing. If that happens, the impact on people already deemed vulnerable due to previous years of flooding, violence, and food insecurity will be devastating.”
- Wide shot, participants attending the press briefing.
- Close shot, a participant at the press briefing wearing a mask.
- Close shot, a participant taking notes.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Gaza: Hospitals continue to overflow with people injured while seeking food - WHO
As besieged Palestinian civilians face widespread malnutrition and starvation, hospitals in the Strip are increasingly overwhelmed by the influx of victims of shootings and other injuries at food distribution areas, warns the World Health Organization.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR , WHO , UNMAS
Urgent help is needed to halt a deadly cholera outbreak that is sweeping across Sudan, UN agencies said on Friday, while warning that communities continue to be terrorized by parties to the conflict even as they flee violence.
2
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News , Images | UNEP
Negotiations got under way at UN Geneva on Tuesday to agree on a legally binding treaty to curb plastic pollution, with delegates from nearly 180 countries attending.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF
Gaza: Hundreds of trucks per day of free aid needed “for months”, in addition to commercial supplies - OCHA
Despite the tactical pauses Israel introduced last week to allow some safe passage for humanitarian convoys, the amount of aid that has entered Gaza remains by far insufficient for the starving population, and UN trucks continue to face impediments on their way to delivering aid.
1
1
1
Edited News | UN WOMEN
Aid agencies echoed wider warnings of growing signs of widespread starvation in Gaza on Tuesday, as UN-partnered international food security experts released their most dire assessment yet of the situation in the wartorn enclave.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , UNDP , UNHCR
Sudan: urgent help needed as more than 1.3 million war-displaced people begin to return home
As conflict rages on across parts of Sudan, pockets of relative safety have emerged in the past four month, spurring more than one million internally displaced Sudanese to make their way home, says the International Organization for Migration (IOM). A further 320,000 cross-border refugees have come back to Sudan since last year, mainly from Egypt and South Sudan, to assess the current situation before deciding to return to their country for good.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , WHO
Gaza: SOS messages describe people fainting from hunger; UN health worker detained
Worrying alerts from United Nations staff in Gaza who have been fainting from hunger and exhaustion over the past 48 hours have increased fears for people’s survival in the devastated enclave, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR , UNOG
Over 11.6 million refugees risk losing aid access due to funding cuts, says UNHCR
Approximately one in three refugees and other vulnerable individuals normally supported by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) are expected to lose out from funding cuts, it said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, made the following announcement on the Office’s opening of a new mission in Bangladesh.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
“The surge in the number of Afghans forced or compelled to return to Afghanistan this year is creating a multi-layered human rights crisis requiring the urgent attention of the international community,” UN Human Rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday called for accountability and justice for the killings and other gross human rights violations and abuses in the southern city of Suweida.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNHCR
Syria: hundreds killed in Sweida, ‘widespread’ violations as civilians flee for their lives
Amid violent clashes in southern Syria’s Sweida governorate, a picture of grave human rights abuses and rising humanitarian needs is emerging by the hour, the UN said on Friday.