Sweden, UNHCR assure of continuous humanitarian support to South Sudan

The Swedish government in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Monday promised to avail more humanitarian support to returnees and refugees in the country.
Kelly T. Clements, UNHCR’s Deputy High Commissioner (2nd R) and Diana Janse, Sweden’s State Secretary for International Development Cooperation (3rd R)  in Torit town on Saturday.

By Simon Deng

The Swedish government in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Monday promised to avail more humanitarian support to returnees and refugees in the country.

“Sweden will remain engaged in supporting displaced people in South Sudan and the hundreds of thousands fleeing the crisis in Sudan,” said Diana Janse, State Secretary for International Development Cooperation in a joint statement issued in Juba.

“In addition to our earmarked core funding to all the main UN actors on the ground, the Swedish government decided a few days ago to allocate 30 million SEK (US$2.9 million) specifically to the UNHCR response in South Sudan,” she disclosed.

The Swedish official and a team of led by Kelly T. Clements, UNHCR’s Deputy High Commissioner  on Saturday visited a “Pocket of Hope” project in Eastern Equatoria State, where many South Sudanese are returning after living in refugee settlements in Uganda.

Janse praised South Sudan for keeping its borders open and promoting access to employment for refugees, adding that there is need for the government to lead the response and provide access to basic services for its returning citizens.

“While determined to continue playing a prominent role in the humanitarian response to this crisis, at the end of the day, what we hope to see in the coming years is for South Sudan to break the pattern of over-dependency on international assistance and lead the way in the development of the country through its own resources and political energy,” said Janse.

For her part, Kelly T. Clements appreciated the Swedish government for the support to the refugee agency, adding that the humanitarian situation in South Sudan is increasingly challenging.

“This is a lifeline for refugees and returnees, and we are deeply grateful for Sweden’s continued support,” said Clements.

 “It is in large-scale emergencies such as this one, that the flexible funding that Sweden has long provided UNHCR becomes particularly important; without earmarked contributions, UNHCR would not be able to respond from the start of an emergency,” she added.

In Juba, the delegation met Foreign Affairs Minister, James Pitia Morgan and Humanitarian Affairs Minister, Albino Akol Atak Mayom, while Clements also met Vice President Rebecca Nyandeng De Mabior and Interior Minister Angelina Teny.

According to the 2024 South Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan, 75 percent of the total population of the country requires humanitarian aid.

The crisis has put enormous pressure on the South Sudanese economy, and many returning citizens are now trying to integrate into communities that were already struggling.

More than 640,000 people have fled to South Sudan since the conflict in Sudan started a year ago. More than half a million are South Sudanese, many of whom had never lived in South Sudan before.

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