Over 9 million people will need humanitarian assistance in 2025: UN

An estimated 9.3 million people – 69 per cent of South Sudan’s population are projected to be in dire need of humanitarian assistance in 2025, according to the latest report released by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Albino Akol Atak Mayom, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management (L) and Ms. Anita Kiki Gbeho, the Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan (R) launch the 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) report in Juba on Monday (Photo by Awan Achiek)

By Awan Achiek

An estimated 9.3 million people – 69 per cent of South Sudan’s population are projected to be in dire need of humanitarian assistance in 2025, according to the latest report released by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Anita Kiki Gbeho, the Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan, attributed the dire humanitarian crisis to conflict, extreme effects of climate change, disease outbreaks, economic crisis and the impact of the ongoing conflict in neighboring Sudan.

“According to the 2025 humanitarian needs and response plan, 9.3 million people, almost 70% of the population, will require some form of humanitarian assistance in 2025,” Gbeho said during the launch of the report in Juba on Monday.

Gheho said the humanitarian community requires $1.7 billion to provide life-saving assistance to 5.4 million people experiencing the most acute needs across the country.

“Allow me to conclude by thanking our humanitarian donors who have stood with the crisis affected people of South Sudan over the years through a generous contribution of $1.4 billion in 2024,” she said.

For his part, Albino Akol Atak Mayom, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management called for collaboration to meet the needs of 5.4 million people facing the risk of hunger next year.

“The government of South Sudan acknowledges it’s dedication, to saving the lives of people who are in dire need of help and dangerous situations that face them to put their own lives at risk,” Atak said.

He promised that the government will protect aid workers and facilitate the transportation of humanitarian supplies by providing adequate security to aid organizations.

“We must protect workers, humanitarian workers and their families, their properties. We must allow access to these workers to reach the needy people without hindering them. We must make sure that we don’t have illegal checkpoints,” Atak said.

Atak called for removal of unnecessary illegal check points that hinder delivery of humanitarian items, emphasizing the need for coordination between the state authorities and the humanitarian agencies.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *