United States Contributes Additional Humanitarian Assistance for the Crisis in South Sudan

by State Department,

July 10, 2014(Washington, DC)– Today, Assistant Secretary Anne C. Richard announced nearly $22 million in additional humanitarian assistance for refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in South Sudan and South Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda. With this latest funding, the United States is providing more than $456 million in humanitarian assistance in fiscal year 2014 to refugees, IDPs, and other conflict-affected populations impacted by the crisis in South Sudan.

Since the outbreak of the current crisis, more than 400,000 refugees have fled from South Sudan, seeking refuge in Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, and Sudan. Hundreds continue to feel the country daily, and more than one million South Sudanese remain internally displaced.

This latest U.S. contribution will allow both international and non-governmental organizations to provide refugees and IDPs with basic life support such as access to clean water; food, health care, and essential household items; employment training; gender-based violence prevention; and programs for child protection, including efforts to restore family links severed as a result of displacement.

The United States strongly supports the efforts of humanitarian organizations to meet needs in South Sudan. This aid can only be effective if the Government of South Sudan, opposition forces, and all other parties to the conflict stop fighting and remove obstacles to the delivery of life-saving assistance. It is crucial that President Salva Kiir and former Vice President Riek Machar implement their May 9 agreement to end the violence and allow immediate, full and unconditional access for the United Nations Mission in South Sudan and humanitarian organizations to reach those in need.