* Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
As hostilities continue in Unity State, relief organisation Medair is committed to returning to provide thousands of suffering and displaced people with life-saving aid.
Medair was forced to relocate its international staff from Leer where they had been treating more than 1,400 malnourished children in the town and surrounding areas.
Medair is among a number of international humanitarian organisations who have withdrawn international staff from Unity state. Consequently, according to the UN, more than 300,000 people do not currently have full access to life-saving assistance, including food aid and medical services.
“We are seriously concerned about the situation the civilian population of Unity State is facing in light of this recent resurgence in fighting,” said Jörg Kunz, Medair’s Project Support Manager. “I’ve heard villages have been burnt to the ground and people are suffering because they are cut off from critical, life-saving care. At a time of year when they need to be able to cultivate crops for the coming months, they instead find themselves fleeing again, vulnerable both now and in the future.”
Medair’s local staff and those of national aid organisations remain in the area to keep the clinics open as long as possible while monitoring the security situation, providing assistance to those relying on Medair’s nutrition programme.
“We are committed to returning at full capacity and urge those involved in this conflict to grant us safe and unrestricted access so that we can provide people with the vital assistance they need,” said Jörg.
South Sudan became an independent nation on 9 July 2011. Medair has been present in South Sudan since 1991, and since the conflict began in December 2013, has assisted thousands of affected people through nutrition, health, water and sanitation, and emergency shelter. Medair has the capacity to respond to both short- and long-term emergencies wherever they arise in all of the 10 states of South Sudan.
For media
Interviews, photos, and stories are available upon request.
For enquiries and interviews from South Sudan, please contact: Wendy van Amerongen, Communications Officer (Medair South Sudan office) comms-sds@medair.org +211 (0)927 475 150
For more information, please contact Abigail Woodcock, Press Relations Officer (English) abigail.woodcock@medair.org +41 (0)21 694 84 72 or +41 (0)78 635 30 95
For more information on Medair’s South Sudan programme, please click here.
Medair helps people who are suffering in remote and devastated communities around the world survive crises, recover with dignity, and develop skills to build a better future.
Medair’s South Sudan programme is supported by the EC Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection, the US Agency for International Development, the Common Humanitarian Fund, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and private donors.
This press release was produced with resources gathered by Medair field and headquarters staff. The views expressed herein are those solely of Medair and should not be taken, in any way, to reflect the official opinion of any other organisation.
