The Borneo Post (Sabah)

South Sudan president vows aid access to famine-hit areas

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JUBA: South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir vowed Tuesday the government would ensure aid could reach areas hit by famine after three years of war that has restricted access for humanitari­an workers.

The world’s youngest nation on Monday declared famine in parts of the northern Greater Unity state, where 100,000 people were facing starvation and another one million were on the brink of famine.

A total of nearly five million are going hungry.

Aid groups have slammed a ‘man-made’ famine caused by ongoing fighting in the country where civil war has forced people to flee, disrupted agricultur­e, sent prices soaring, and seen aid agencies blocked from accessing some of the worst-hit areas.

“It underscore­s the complete failure by government, opposition forces, and internatio­nal actors to end the cycle of abuse,” Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement Tuesday.

In an address to parliament, Kiir said the government “will ensure that all humanitari­an and developmen­t organisati­ons have unimpeded access to needy population­s across the country”.

A UN aid official working in the region, speaking on condition of anonymity, welcomed the commitment – which has been made in the past – while saying it was “more important that access be granted on the ground”.

Kiir’s commitment could give leverage in negotiatio­ns on the ground, she said, as gaining access to hungry communitie­s often meant tricky talks with an array of actors in the crisis.

Some regions are only accessible through air drops of humanitari­an aid – which the UN official said costs seven times more than sending aid by road or barge.

And access is not as simple as permission: aid agencies have to be sure if they give out food aid to a community they won’t be attacked by an armed group and have their rations stolen right afterwards.

 ?? — Reuters photo ?? Women carry boxes of nutritiona­l food delivered by the United Nations World Food Programme (UN WFP), in Rubkuai village, Unity State, South Sudan. (Inset) Salva Kiir.
— Reuters photo Women carry boxes of nutritiona­l food delivered by the United Nations World Food Programme (UN WFP), in Rubkuai village, Unity State, South Sudan. (Inset) Salva Kiir.

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