US urges"humanitarian solution" to crisis affecting South Sudan, Somalia

When people flee, they lose their possessions, crops and income in South Sudan (Credit: Oxfam)

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) said here Thursday that it was crucial to provide humanitarian assistance as a result of man-made crises in South Sudan, Nigeria - all of which are driven by violent conflict - and Somalia, where ongoing conflict is compounding the effects of severe and prolonged drought.

A statement made available to PANA in Kigali by the US agency, described as one of the largest donors of humanitarian assistance, USAID said the current crises are forcing people to flee within and beyond their country borders, disrupting agricultural production and livelihoods, and severing families from their social support systems.

The ongoing violence - including deliberate attacks on civilians and relief workers - also continues to prevent aid from reaching those most in need, the statement said.

In a move to address the current crisis, the US government is considering the distribution of humanitarian aid package, including emergency food and nutrition assistance, safe drinking water, life-saving medical care, and shelter for those who have been displaced, both internally and as refugees, as well as protection for civilians, it said.

The warning by US government comes at a time estimates by the World Food Programme (WFP) indicate that a total of 2.8 million people are still in need of food assistance in South Sudan.

In Nigeria, the UN agency said that a total of 5.2 million people in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States, and 50,000 people are estimated to be in famine-like conditions across Northeast region of the West African nation.

In addition, humanitarian agencies also said that the threat of famine persists in Somalia where by over 3.1 million people are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.

Malnutrition, one of the leading indicators of the crisis, has reached emergency levels in a number of locations in southern and central Somalia, primarily, though not exclusively among displaced populations, it said.

Source:PANAPRESS