Senior United Nations or UN Relief officials on Monday visited South Sudan to meet conflict-affected people and review the ongoing response and needs amidst a rising humanitarian crisis in the country.
In statement on Monday, World Food Programme Executive Director Ertharin Cousin and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ant√≥nio Guterres’ two-day visit came amid the alarming spread of hunger and displacement in South Sudan.
Ms Cousin and Mr Guterres will also meet partners and local authorities in the country, before crossing to Ethiopia to meet more than 80 thousand refugees.
Mr Guterres said it was heartbreaking to see the same people who fled the war two decades ago to flee again to very same places where they lived in exile.
The two officials expressed concerns about the number of people cut off from any form of aid due to ongoing fighting, disrupting farming in some areas.
Ms Cousin said people are in acute need of safe access to victims and funds to bring in lifesaving supplies including food, shelter, vaccines, healthcare and other aid.
Food and Agriculture Organization head of Mission Sue Lautze announced that it would help conflict-affected families in South Sudan restore their farming livelihoods.