ReliefWeb

Highlights

• Shelter/NFI distributions target IDPs in Unity

• IOM responds to influx of IDPs in Wau town

• RRF partners respond to malnutrition in crisis-affected areas

Over 7.5 million people in South Sudan today are in need of humanitarian assistance due to a devastating crisis that has displaced over 3 million people since 2013. The scale of humanitarian needs is unprecedented, with UN agencies announcing on 20 February that an estimated 100,000 people are facing famine conditions in Unity’s Leer and Mayendit counties. Vulnerable populations in other areas of Unity and parts of Northern Bahr el Ghazal are on the verge of famine.

IOM is working with humanitarian partners to help reach 5.8 million people with aid in 2017, including 1.89 million internally displaced persons (IDPs). To provide lifesaving assistance to displaced and conflict-affected populations across the country in 2017, IOM has appealed for USD 76.8 million. For more information: http://bit.ly/2mlpU4G.

As needs are worsening, humanitarian workers are facing increasing difficulty in accessing affected populations due to insecurity and bureaucratic impediments, complicating efforts to reach the most vulnerable and compounding existing needs.

In January and February, IOM operations were affected at least three times due to insecurity.
IOM and other aid agencies are responding to an influx of more than 5,000 newly displaced people, who have arrived at collective centres in Wau town since early February due to insecurity in Jur River County. IOM teams are distributing relief items and coordinating to provide access to clean water and other services.

IOM, in coordination with Mercy Corps, conducted an emergency shelter and nonfood item (NFI) kit distribution from 22 February – 3 March for over 9,400 IDPs in Nyal, Unity, who fled fighting in nearby areas in late 2016. The kits include blankets, rope, plastic sheeting, a kanga (cloth) and a large carrying bag.

IOM is currently collaborating with the UN World Food Programme to biometrically register the population in Nyal and Ganyiel, Unity, to inform humanitarian response planning and distributions for the area. The exercise is expected to be complete by April.

Through the USAID Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA)-funded,
IOM-managed Rapid Response Fund (RRF), three non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are responding to malnutrition in crisis-affected areas of the country, including Mundri East and West, Nasir and Lopa Lafon.