The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)
welcomes a US$3.1 million contribution from the Government of Japan to help
strengthen communities’ resilience to food shocks as South Sudan braces for
tough times ahead.
The funds will be used to provide
assistance to more than 41,000 people—including displaced people and returnees
in Warrap, Unity and Lakes states, helping them meet their immediate food needs
while rebuilding their lives and livelihoods through creating assets such as
vegetable gardens, flood dykes and access roads.
“It is crucial to enhance the food
security in South Sudan,” says H.E. Seiji Okada, Ambassador of Japan to South
Sudan. “This is critical so that the peace dividend can be received by the
people in the wake of the formation of the transitional government of national
unity and strengthening communities’ resilience against the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The contribution comes at a crucial
time. South Sudan has been dealing with multiple crises, following years of conflict,
a drought episode in 2019, floods last autumn that decimated the harvest in
many rural areas, a locust invasion in 2020 and now the COVID-19 pandemic and
its consequences.
“We are grateful to the Government of
Japan for the timely support,” says Matthew Hollingworth, WFP’s Country
Director in South Sudan. “The contribution is invaluable, particularly as we
ramp up efforts to respond to growing needs. For the most vulnerable, they need
our help and they need it now more than ever.”
Some 6.5 million people—more than
half the population— will be food insecure at the height of the hunger season
when food stocks run out and before the new harvest comes in between May and
July. The number of people in need is expected to rise following a recent
invasion of locusts and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on jobs, food
prices and supply chains.
WFP’s food security and resilience
activities are designed to address both current food needs, while promoting the
ability of vulnerable communities to withstand future shocks to their food
security, such as droughts and floods. In 2019, WFP supported 600,000 people
through its food assistance for assets activities across the country.
In 2020, WFP plans to widen its
resilience building to include more and more people particularly as the country
consolidates its peace process.
The Government of Japan is a
long-standing partner of WFP’s activities in South Sudan. The latest
contribution brings Japan’s total contributions to WFP activities in the
country to US$52.3 million since 2012. - Africa
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