Edited News | OCHA
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-
1
1
1
Edited News , B-roll | OCHA
Gaza: ‘Worst-case scenario’ unfolds as two-month aid blockade deepens suffering - OCHA
Two months into a devastating aid blockade of Gaza food has run out and people are fighting over water amid relentless bombing, the UN’s humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA) said on Friday.
/Includes OCHA footage from Gaza City/
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA
Children in Gaza are going to bed starving, says aid agency
The biggest UN aid agency in Gaza on Tuesday condemned the two-month Israeli blockade on Gaza that has left families sharing a single tin of food at mealtime and the sick and injured without lifesaving medical help, amid daily bombardment.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR
Ongoing Russian attacks in Ukraine force frontline areas to empty: UNHCR
With Ukrainian cities still reeling from this week’s deadly Russian missile and drone attacks, communities on the front line continue to be targeted too, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday. “We also see attacks on frontline regions increasing and it's, as always, civilians that are bearing the highest cost of the war,” said Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR Representative in Ukraine.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Funding and supply shortfalls for the UN World Food Programme (WFP)'s work in Ethiopia will halt lifesaving treatment for 650,000 malnourished women and children at the end of the month. “We are at the breaking point,” it said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Israeli military operations in Lebanon continue to kill and injure civilians, and destroy civilian infrastructure, raising concerns regarding the protection of civilians, the UN Human Rights Office warned today.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , UNWOMEN , UNDP
Sudan: Aid teams report massive displacement after latest Darfur atrocity; women’s bodies ‘turned into battlegrounds’
In Sudan’s North Darfur, tens of thousands of people have fled a displacement camp following the massacre of civilians and aid workers as the country enters the third year of a conflict marked by horrific levels of sexual violence, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | ITC
Global trade could shrink by three per cent as a result of the United States’ new tariff measures which in the longer term could reshape and boost as-yet untapped regional commercial links, a top UN economist confirmed on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Warring parties in Sudan are overseeing a wholesale assault on human rights amid global inaction, the UN Human Rights Office said on Friday, as the conflict is about to enter its third year.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office on Friday said Israel’s increasing issuance of so-called “evacuation orders” for Palestinians in Gaza have resulted in their forcible transfer.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , OHCHR , UNHCR , UNWOMEN , WFP , WHO
Two years of war in Sudan have created epic suffering, aid agencies say
Two years since Sudan’s brutal conflict began, UN agencies warned that famine is spreading and civilians of all ages continue to suffer shocking abuse, including rape and gang rape.
1
1
Edited News | UNMAS
In Gaza, ongoing Israeli military operations and the aid blockade have continued to add to daily fears and hardships confronting those in the devastated enclave, the UN Mine Action Service, UNMAS, said on Wednesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNDP
Dangers grow for Myanmar earthquake survivors, health system 'overwhelmed' - UNDP
In earthquake-shattered central Myanmar people are sleeping in the streets in fear of buildings collapsing, facing early monsoon rains and the risk of waterborne diseases, the UN Development Programme warned on Tuesday.