Food assistance is transported along river routes, but growing insecurity is hampering humanitarian operations and threatening to push hunger to unprecedented levels.
WFP teams are registering newly displaced families in Canal Pigi and other areas of northern Jonglei to receive urgently needed aid, in some cases for the first time since the fighting began.
The agency aims to reach more than half a million people facing catastrophic food insecurity. However, $341 million is urgently needed to support 4.2 million people across South Sudan this year.
Adham Effendi, WFP’s acting country director, described the operation as a crucial step in helping communities “caught in the crossfire”, noting that many had already lost homes and livelihoods to the floods before being forced to flee again.
In New York, UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric highlighted the dangerous conditions facing humanitarian workers in South Sudan.
It reported that a private contractor working with WFP coordinating humanitarian airdrops was killed earlier this week by an unknown gunman in Upper Nile State. The incident is under investigation.
Dujarric expressed his condolences to the victim’s family and colleagues and stressed that humanitarian workers should never be a target.
The United Nations continues to “call on all parties to reduce violence, ensure safe, rapid and unimpeded access to all people in need, and resolve all problems through dialogue.”
Aid reaches Gaza, but restrictions keep assistance well below needs
As of Monday, humanitarian services had reached some 670,000 people in Gaza with monthly general food assistance for February.
However, ration sizes remain reduced to 50%, as current stocks in the Gaza Strip are insufficient to sustain larger rations for the rest of the month.
“Humanitarian partners report that impediments remain and, in recent weeks, the influx of humanitarian supplies from Egypt has remained critically low due to high rejection rates by Israeli authorities,” said UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric.
Obstacles must be removed
As of mid-February, more than 20 UN partners produced and distributed more than 1.7 million meals every day through 180 kitchens, representing around half a million meals in the north and 1.3 million in the south.
“UN partners are aligning the schedule of preparation and distribution of cooked meals with the fasting hours of Ramadan. They have also added fresh produce and additional protein,” he said.
UN agencies are on the ground providing tents, tarps, isolation kits, clothing and other essential items to more than 11,500 households in northern Gaza, Deir al Balah and Khan Younis governorates.
Dujarric said the UN and its partners “reiterate that impediments must be urgently removed so we can do more to meet the enormous humanitarian needs in Gaza.”
UN envoy on children’s rights concludes first official visit to Syria
UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict Vanessa Frazier concluded a three-day visit to Syria on Thursday, her first official mission to the country since her appointment in October.
Ms. Frazier with government representatives, UN partners, diplomats, as well as parents and children who have grown up during a conflict spanning more than a decade.
Its aim was to discuss new opportunities for collaboration with the new Government of Syria to strengthen child protection and engage in areas where the UN can offer greater support.
He also praised the government’s determination to turn the page and build a new Syria with children at the center.
Challenges persist
Challenges persist, especially when it comes to children – or their parents – who are allegedly linked to armed groups, particularly in the northeast of the country, the US government said.
He reminded that children should not be detained, but treated as victims and handed over to child protection agents.
On top of that, Ms Frazier warned that unexploded ordnance and mines remained an immense challenge for Syria: hindering safe access to schools, hospitals and playgrounds for children.
“The children of Syria have already suffered enough from the consequences of the armed conflict,” he said.
“They deserve a future shaped by peace, stability and opportunity: a future where classrooms replace conflict, dreams replace fear, and their voices help rebuild a nation rich in history and resilience.”
Listen to an interview with Vanessa Frazier, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict.