International aid agency, GOAL is calling for funding pledged at a crucial humanitarian pledging conference for South Sudan in Oslo tomorrow (Tuesday, May 20) to immediately be directed to aid agencies that have access to people affected by the conflict, and that have the capacity to absorb funding.
The Oslo conference will discuss how to address the ongoing crisis in South Sudan, where it is estimated that 4.9 million people are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, following months of conflict. Already, it has been predicted that 50,000 children will die as a result of conflict and food shortages this summer.
With less than half of the $1.27 billion in funding requested by the UN for its South Sudan crisis response plan met, and just days to go before the onset of the rainy season, after which humanitarian access to remote areas will become increasingly complex, time is running out for the one million people who have been displaced by the conflict.
“Directing the funding to the NGOs on the ground is the quickest and most impactful way to disperse funding that is made available,” said GOAL CEO, Barry Andrews. “With so little time and so many lives at stake, we simply don’t have time to wait around for the funding and humanitarian assistance to trickle through to the aid agencies.
“GOAL is on the front line now and is already supporting tens of thousands of internally displaced people with food, water, shelter and medical attention. More and more people need our assistance every day, but we need the funding in order to reach them.”
Apart from increased funding, GOAL is also calling for greater engagement from the international community to maintain the pressure on all parties involved in the conflict to end hostilities through a negotiated and crucially, a sustainable peace agreement.
“In order to save lives and prevent famine, the fighting must end. And ultimately it is down to the people of South Sudan to achieve this. The international community can continue to facilitate peace summits between the two sides, but until they decide to cease hostilities there is little we can do to prevent this crisis becoming a catastrophe over the summer months.
For further comment from Barry Andrews, please contact David Williams on 00 353 (0)87 419 7140.
Notes:
GOAL is providing nutrition and medical aid to 50,000 South Sudanese refugees at Kule refugee camp in the Gambella region of Ethiopia, close to the South Sudan border. This week, in less than 72 hours, 11,000 refugees crossed the border from South Sudan into Ethiopia. Many thousands more are gathered at the South Sudan/Ethiopia border waiting to enter the country.
In South Sudan, GOAL continues to support 500,000 long-standing beneficiaries with primary healthcare, nutrition, sanitation, and water and livelihood projects. They are also supporting 30,000 internally displaced people in Upper Nile State, and providing health, nutrition and sanitation services to around 15,000 displaced people in Twic and Agok.
David Williams
GOAL Media & PR Officer
Tel: 00 353 (0)1 280 9779
Mob: 00 353 (0)87 419 7140
Email: dwilliams@goal.ie
Skype: david.williams761
GOAL is an international humanitarian organisation
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