20 million risk facing famine in S. Sudan, 3 other nations

[Elisabeth Janaina]

20 million risk facing famine in S. Sudan, 3 other nations

Article
Comments (1)

email Email
print Print
pdfSave
separation
increase
decrease
separation
separation

August 11, 2017 (JUBA) - More than 20 million people remain at risk
from famine in Yemen, Somalia, South Sudan and in the north-eastern
part of Nigeria, the United Nations warned on Wednesday.

JPEG - 115 kb
A UN Security Council session on New York (UN photo)

The anticipated catastrophe, the Security Council said in a statement,
was directly linked to the armed conflicts raging in these four
countries.

"The Security Council notes the devastating impact on civilians of
ongoing armed conflict and violence," the statement reads in part.

The 15-member Security Council, in the statement, also emphasized with
deep concern that ongoing conflicts and violence have devastating
humanitarian consequences and hinder an effective humanitarian
response in the short, medium and long term and are therefore a major
cause of famine in the situations above.

It, however, called on all parties involved in the various conflicts
in the four mentioned nations to "respect and protect medical
facilities and personnel and their means of transport and equipment."

"The Security Council underlines the obligations of all parties to
armed conflict to respect and protect civilians," it said.

It went on to issue a call for "all parties in Yemen, South Sudan,
Somalia and northeast Nigeria to urgently take steps that would enable
a more effective humanitarian response."

The Security Council also commended donors for providing humanitarian
assistance in response to the four crises but said additional
resources and funding are needed "to pull people back from the brink
of famine."

The council also called on UN members to make good on their pledge of
aid to help tackle the burgeoning threat of famine.

Meanwhile, the 15-member Security Council asked Secretary-General
Antonio Guterres "in light of the unprecedented threat of famine" to
brief members in October on "impediments" in each of the four
countries to responding effectively. It also demanded specific
recommendations on how to address the impediments.

According to the UN’s humanitarian affairs and emergency relief
coordinator, only $2.5bn have so far been paid up by donors to tackle
the crisis, out of a total of $4.9bn urgently needed.

(ST)