Juba, South Sudan
December 11, 2021—The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in South Sudan,Amb. Nicholas Haysom, is worried that the humanitarian situation in Unity State is worsening due to an unabated flooding that displaced millions of people.
Speaking to Journalists during the press conference in Juba, Nicholas explained that what he saw in Bentiu on Tuesday is devastating.
“I was yesterday (Tuesday) in Bentiu witnessing firsthand the dramatic way in which the floods have affected hundreds of thousands of people’s lives”, Nicolas told journalists on Wednesday in South Sudanese capital Juba.
The UN Special representative said he can only describe the situation as “dire”.
According to Nicholas, floodwaters are not receding and hundreds of thousands of people remain displaced and in desperate need of assistance.
He also warns that nearly 3 million people have no access to basic health services in the country.
“We are told that unless urgent assistance is given, more than 2 million people may not have access to basic health services, at least 277,000 acutely malnourished women and children will be at further risk, 70,000 children won’t be able to go to school, and without adequate water, sanitation and hygiene there is a potential from the outbreak of cholera or other water-borne diseases,” UN chief added.
Nicolas stressed that more help is needed to address the situation of flooding across the country.
“A particular concern to me is the deterioration of the infrastructure, farms, and dykes. Water will still be there when the next rainy season comes. Unless we can avert this, we may not even consider evacuating people from the area. I will raise this issue as well as the situation more generally in South Sudan in my regular update to the United Nations Security Council next week,” he revealed.
The UN Special Representative said he is doing what he can to ensure that the people in the affected areas are assisted.
Nicolas says funding partners have expressed an inability to close the gaps due to competing humanitarian needs among conflict-affected countries across the globe.
“However, right now, our humanitarian partners report that they simply can’t bridge the gap in the available funding and resources to reach all those in need in Bentiu. The consequences could be disastrous in terms of food insecurity, lack of healthcare, education, and the risk of water-borne diseases.
According to the UN report, more than 800,000 people have been negatively affected by the worst floods especially in Jonglei, Unity, and Upper Nile states.
