Famine spreads in South Sudan, Somalia
STARVATION is mounting in South Sudan and Somalia as political instability is contributing to the humanitarian crisis in the region.
Two counties in South Sudan’s Unity state Mayendit and Leer – – have been formally declared famine areas ahead of the arrival of the first vanguard of the UN Security Council-mandated Regional Protection Force.
In Somalia, Radio Mogadishu has reported that at least 30 people have died of starvation in Somalia’s southern region of Jubaland in the past 48 hours.
The government-owned radio station said regional interior minister and drought committee chairman Abdirahman Mohamed Hussein had announced the deaths.
He appealed for emergency aid to prevent further deaths from starvation.
Hussein’s appeal followed UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warning earlier in the month that six million Somalis were at risk and in need of aid.
With the deployment of UN peacekeepers to South Sudan’s capital, Juba, set to be stepped up in the next few weeks, the outgoing UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping operations in the country, Hervé Ladsous, warned that the situation there was extremely concerning.
He explained that the number of people fleeing the country showed no signs of slowing, adding that a political solution to the hostilities was the only answer to the crisis.
Earlier in the day, Ladsous said he had spoken with President Salva Kiir in what he described as a “good” meeting.
Among the topics discussed were the challenges to humanitarian action, including impediments to getting clearances, as well as instances of aid workers killed or injured while on the job which the UN would help with.
Meanwhile, the needs in the country are greater than ever with Ladsous warning that the situation was “man-made” after several years of fighting and “was not going to improve” because it was now crop-planting season and all farmers were displaced or seeking refuge in neighbouring countries.
Somalia is also facing a crippling drought that has decimated livestock and ruined crops, resulting in hundreds of people fleeing Jubaland and seeking refuge in the capital Mogadishu where some of them have been given food by locals.
Despite the support of residents in Mogadishu, the aid received is insufficient.
However, in addition to the help offered by Somalis and international aid agencies, Hollywood star Ben Stiller is one of a number of media celebrities who have teamed up on social media to try to raise funds to help.
The drive raised almost $2 million (R25.2m) in less than a week.
Next Monday, the first flight carrying 60 tons of food will fly to Mogadishu with the food to be distributed by the American Refugee Committee.
The money will also be used to fund water supplies to drought-hit areas of Somalia.