South Sudan: Government Promises Aid for Famine Declared Areas

President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayardit, has said that his government will do everything in their power to ensure that the people in the famine declared areas of the country receive the aid they so desperately need.

The country officially declared famine in two regions of the country yesterday, affecting more than 100 000 people.

The United Nations, and other human rights organisations, have repeatedly tried to get food and aid to the people affected by the famine in South Sudan, but said that the government has, in some instances, purposefully blocked access.

While the government has promised on various occasions not to block aid by international human rights organisations, this has not been the case.

Some of the members in Mayardit’s government believe that the international organisations are ‘meddling’ in the country’s affairs, and have thus adopted a severely hostile attitude toward any international help.

However, Mayardit has said in the National Assembly that his government would make sure that human rights organisations sending aid receive “unimpeded access” to the country and the regions affected by the famine.

After officially declaring famine in some of the regions of the country, the European Commission announced that they will send a $87m emergency aid package to South Sudan.

European Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Commissioner, Christos Stylianides, also said that the famine in South Sudan is completely man-made, and is a direct result of the ongoing civil war in the country.

The civil war in the country has wreaked havoc on the country’s economy and has sent inflation through the roof, which has in turn made food unaffordable to some families.

It is estimated that more than 1.5 million people have fled the country since the start of the civil war in 2013.