5.5 million S. Sudanese facing severe food insecurity: IOM
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UN peacekeeper keeps watch inside a Protection of Civilians sites, in
Juba as a UN Security Council delegation meets with the IDPs on 3
September 2016 (UNMISS Photo)
June 18, 2017 (WAU) – The International Organization for Migration
(IOM) in South Sudan has estimated that 5.5 million people in South
Sudan are facing severe food insecurity and malnutrition due to the
conflict and the country’s collapsing economy.
Many families coping mechanisms are declining because the communities
are facing displacement and reduced access to crops, markets and basic
services.
In a statement released during the weekend, the IOM has announced that
the Government of Japan is providing USD 1 million to support the
IOM’s efforts to mitigate the impact of the food insecurity on
families across South Sudan through Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
(WASH) assistance.
The crisis is particularly severe in Unity region, where an estimated
100,000 people are facing famine conditions. However, people are
affected in parts of every state and many are extremely vulnerable.
More regions in the country are at risk of deteriorating into
emergency or famine conditions.
The lack of safe drinking water, limitation to sanitation and health
care facilities and poor hygiene practices have left these places
vulnerable, while populations with facing food shortages are at
greater risk.
“The lack of access to safe drinking water is one of the causes of
malnutrition,” explains Antonio Torres, a Coordinator at IOM WASH.
Torres went on to say that IOM wants to promote good hygiene and
sanitation practices in all communities, primarily the ones with food
insecurities.
“Individuals living in areas facing acute food insecurity often endure
weakened immune systems due to poor nutrition. IOM undertakes efforts
to both increase access to safe water and ensure the promotion of good
hygiene and sanitation practices to safeguard these communities
against further health risks, including the spread of waterborne
diseases,” he said.
Through Japanese support, IOM is procuring critical basic household
items to ensure that relief agencies have access to humanitarian WASH
supplies. In food-insecure and famine-affected areas, IOM aims to help
its’ partners reach an estimated 50,000 people with water storage and
treatment supplies, 21,000 women and girls with menstrual hygiene
management kits, and 20,000 people through improved sanitation
facilities.
The project also supports IOM’s emergency response and preparedness
teams, which are currently in Kapoeta, Eastern Equatoria, where
thousands are vulnerable to a cholera outbreak that began in late
April 2017. As populations in Kapoeta are facing severe food
insecurity, a cholera outbreak can be catastrophic in areas where
individuals already experience malnutrition, poor WASH conditions and
limited access to health facilities.
IOM further said their ground teams are working to increase
communities’ access to safe drinking water through borehole repairs
and the distribution of water treatment supplies, as well as improving
hygiene and sanitation through hygiene promotion activities.
The Japanese funding has also provided a boost to IOM’s rapid response
health teams, which are able to react quickly to health needs and
emergencies, such as disease outbreaks across the country. The team
recently responded to a cholera outbreak and acute primary health-care
needs in Jonglei’s Ayod County, where families face crisis-level food
insecurity.
Over three weeks, the team conducted over 3,300 medical consultations
and reached over 8,400 people with health and hygiene promotion
messages.
IOM’s emergency health and WASH responses are also supported by the
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Office of
US Foreign Disaster Assistance, the UK Department for International
Development (DFID), the EC European Civil Protection and Humanitarian
Aid Operations, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund and the South
Sudan Humanitarian Fund.
(ST)
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