EU donates $12.9 million for South Sudan aid

[Elisabeth Janaina]

EU donates $12.9 million for South Sudan aid
Photo: South Sudanese refugees demand to be registered at Imvepi
reception centre in Arua district in Northern Uganda. (UNHCR/Jiro Ose)
Photo: South Sudanese refugees demand to be registered at Imvepi
reception centre in Arua district in Northern Uganda. (UNHCR/Jiro Ose)

The European Commission (EC) on Friday announced that it has provided
$12.9 million to help save the lives of conflict-affected people in
war-torn South Sudan.

The money, which was given to South Sudan through the UN World Food
Programme (WFP), is in addition to the $32 million contribution that
was already confirmed for 2017.

"The country needs to continue international support which, combined
with unimpeded access to the affected population, will help prevent
the unfolding catastrophe from expanding further," WFP Representative
and Country Director in South Sudan Joyce Luma said in a statement.

"This support is vital to our ongoing efforts to respond to the
unprecedented levels of hunger in South Sudan this year," Luma said.

Nearly 5.5 million people facing severe hunger in South Sudan. In
February, famine was declared in Leer and Mayendit counties, affecting
about 100,000 people.

The contribution from the EC's Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO) for
WFP South Sudan will provide emergency food and nutrition assistance
to about 890,000 people facing hunger as a result of conflict and
seasonal food insecurity, including an estimated 165,000 children
under the age of five and pregnant and breastfeeding women.