A South Sudanese woman receiving food provided by Humanitarian organizations in South Sudan - Credit: UNOCHA

As South Sudan faces its worst hunger crisis since its independence, the UN Relief Chief has called on member states to provide swift humanitarian assistance before the rainy season.

More than two-thirds of South Sudan’s population, or 8.3 million people, are estimated to need humanitarian assistance in 2021.

They include 8 million South Sudanese and 310,000 refugees and asylum seekers in the country.

Humanitarian organizations in South Sudan are targeting 6.6 million people with assistance and protection services this year.

This year, humanitarian organizations need $1.7 billion to provide life-saving help to 6.6 million people.

But much more is needed as less than 20 percent of the required funding has been received to date, according to the UN Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs-OCHA.

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock says there is a need for speed-up assistance to South Sudan.

Mark Lowcock was speaking this week in a briefing to Member States on the humanitarian situation in South Sudan.

South Sudan’s minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Peter Mayen Majongdit, and other humanitarians were in attendance at the virtual session.

Recently, the UN Secretary-General convened a High-Level Task Force to Prevent Famine, with South Sudan being one of four priority countries.

The country has faced conflicts, two years of heavy flooding and now the Covid-19 pandemic has triggered livelihood losses, high levels of malnutrition.

With worrying levels of inter-communal conflicts despite the peace process, the UN Relief Chief says many areas are now at the highest risk of famine.

He called on the UN Member States to sustain the momentum on building peace and security across South Sudan.

According to aid agencies, humanitarians are working in complex and often dangerous conditions to reach people in need.

The safety of humanitarian workers worsened in 2020, with nine aid workers killed compared to three in 2019.

This brings the total number of aid workers lost since 2013 to 124. Nearly 270 humanitarians were relocated in 2020 due to insecurity and flooding compared to 129 in 2019.

But South Sudan’s minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Peter Mayen said the government is trying to make safe environment for aid workers.

South Sudan depends almost entirely on aid agencies in times of disaster.