United States Provides $95 Million in Humanitarian Assistance for South Sudanese People.

The U.S. has announced contributions totaling US$95 million to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in South Sudan on Thursday.

“This funding includes more than $52 million from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and nearly $42 million from the U.S. Department of State. It brings the total humanitarian assistance to more than $482 million so far in fiscal year 2021.” Reads part of a statement from USAID

WFP says the funds received from the United States through USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance will support WFP food assistance in South Sudan where food insecurity has pushed 60 percent of the population into hunger and poverty.

“This funding from our biggest donor, USAID, comes at a very critical time when funding is scarce and needs are enormous,” said Matthew Hollingworth, Representative and Country Director of WFP in South Sudan.

“WFP relies on predictable funding, which enables us to plan ahead to prevent the kind of alarming conditions that precede famine by covering the pressing needs of the most food-insecure communities. These funds will also help WFP to pre-position food stocks for the lean season when humanitarian access is more challenging,” he added.   

The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) assessment this year denotes that 7.24 million people will face acute food shortage at the height of the lean season in July.

1.4 million children will be acutely malnourished. Relentless rains last year caused flooding, the impact of COVID-19 on the lives of the poorest people have taken their toll on what is the world’s youngest country according to the United Nations.