October 8th 2018 (Nyamilepedia) – The World Food Programme (WFP) has welcomed the resumption of river transport between parts of South Sudan which has been affected by the ongoing civil war which strarted in December 2013.
Since the outbreak of violence in the country, the World Food Programme (WFP) has
for the first time sent metric tonnes of humanitarian assistance to South Sudan most
affected region via the Sobat River using boats.
Speaking to journalists on Monday, the Country Acting Director for the World Food
Programmes (WFP), Simon Cammelbeeck was encouraged by the resumption of the
river transport for the first time, saying it is an important development that will
definitely go a long way toward improving lives of the most affected population in
remote areas that have been plagued by years of political and military instability.
“River transport was challenging because of security issues, but now things are improving and the boat operators are willing to work with the UN, which is a great breakthrough and we want to expand that further,” Simon said.
Simon pointed out that the humanitarian corridors delivered via river routes, the Sobat River, will be expanded to reduce airdrop transport costs.
“It is a win-win for WFP, for the community, for the donors and the private sector. So we want to extend this further,” he added.
The humanitarian food aid provided by the UN Agency, WFP, will be channeled to Ulang and Nyirol county respectively where thousands of people are still facing severe food shortage since the World’s youngest nation descended into civil in 2013.
Last month, a report obtained by Nyamilepedia highlighted that over 6.1 million
people in hard-to-reach areas in South Sudan particularly in the Greater Upper Nile
region remain food insecure as a result of restrictions on humanitarian food aid
delivery, despite the peace deal signed by the warring partieparties.
South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit and his former Vice President turned arch-
rival signed a peace deal on September, 12 in a bid to bring the suffering of nearly
more than 50 percent of the country population to an end.
