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South Sudan violence turning into a children’s crisis, warns Plan International

by Plan International | planglobal | Plan International
Thursday, 21 July 2016 16:26 GMT

* Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Global child rights and humanitarian organisation Plan International has warned that the recent spate of violence in Juba, South Sudan, has put already vulnerable children at further risk of abuse and exploitation.

Fighting between rival forces left close to 300 people dead, including civilians and UN Peacekeepers. A ceasefire achieved between warring factions in the last few days appears to be holding, however overall uncertainty remains.

According to the Plan International South Sudan Country Director, Daniel Muchena:

“This turn of events places already vulnerable children at further risk of abuse and exploitation. In situations of conflict, there is gross violation of children’s rights - especially their rights to education, health care and protection as well as participation in issues that affect their lives. The renewed fighting is very worrisome as the situation for children is likely to worsen, making a difficult situation that much worse.”

Plan International is joining calls for lasting solutions to safeguard the lives of innocent children caught up in the fighting.

The organisation is currently assessing the situation with a view to ensuring a timely and secure restart to its existing lifesaving and emergency work, following a temporary suspension of its operations.

The South Sudan crisis has been termed a children’s crisis, with official reports indicating approximately 70% of the current South Sudanese refugees to be under 18.

According to the UN Refugee Agency’s Revised South Sudan Regional Refugee Response Plan which was relaunched last week on 15th July 2016, children and youth are among the most affected, and the current response is severely underfunded at only 19% funding against a budget of 701 Million USD.

Already, the country has experienced displacement, abuse and exploitation of children and the recent events are likely to aggravate an already difficult environment. Marginal gains made to provide education services to children since 2011 are at risk of being halted.

Poverty underpins many of the humanitarian challenges facing the people of South Sudan, particularly children. According to UNICEF, since the conflict broke out in 2013, an estimated 400,000 children have dropped out of school with 9,000-15,000 children reported to be serving as child soldiers. Less than 50% of children are reported to be in school with thousands of children having been conscripted as child soldiers.

Current UN estimates place two out of every three people in South Sudan to be food insecure, with the ongoing drought placing children at risk of severe acute malnutrition. In addition, as a result of this recent crisis, there are major concerns around a surge in water borne diseases, including cholera. There were already some cases of cholera before the crisis, with limited fresh water supplies the situation may worsen.

Before this recent flare up, South Sudan was generally recognised as being one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world in terms of duration and scale of impact and the recent events are likely to exacerbate the situation.

South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in July 2011 as the outcome of a 2005 peace deal that ended Africa's longest-running civil war.

ENDS

Plan International experts are available for media interviews. For more information, please contact:

(NAIROBI) Mercy Kabangi, Regional Communications and Media Manager
Plan International, Region of Eastern & Southern Africa (RESA)
Email: Mercy.kabangi@plan-international.org
Mobile:  +254 (0) 721247080 

(LONDON) Angela Singh, Global Press Officer
Plan InternationalHeadquarters
Email:angela.singh@plan-international.org  
Mobile: +44 (0) 7773 636 180

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Editor’s Notes:

About Plan International:

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.

We believe in the power and potential of every child. But this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And it’s girls who are most affected. Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children.

We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood. And we enable children to prepare for – and respond to – crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge.

We have been building powerful partnerships for children for over 75 years, and are now active in more than 70 countries.

About Plan International South Sudan:

Plan International started operations in South Sudan in 2006 and currently runs programmes in four states: Lakes, Eastern Equatoria, Central Equatoria and Jonglei states.

Plan International South Sudan has been responding to the 2013 crisis by providing lifesaving support and most recently recovery in Jonglei, Lakes and Eastern Equatoria states. Long-term development is ongoing in Central and Eastern Equatoria through Plan International’s child sponsorship programme, female teacher training, education support in schools and youth skills training and entrepreneurship development.

 

 

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