The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Tuesday made an appeal asking for 10 million U.S. dollars to meet the most immediate needs of children affected by the floods in South Sudan.
South Sudan is currently reeling with an extreme deluge of water as entire communities, including health and nutrition centers as well as schools are submerged in contaminated floodwater, posing a huge health risk for children. Up to 90 percent of the basic services have been suspended in some areas.
UNICEF representative in South Sudan, Mohamed Ag Ayoya, said over 900,000 people including 490,000 children, are in urgent assistance amid a rise in water levels.
“South Sudan was already one of the most dangerous countries to be a child, and now it got worse,” Ayoya said in a statement issued in Juba. “The good news is that UNICEF was on the ground before the flood and could respond quickly.”
He said the actions taken today will determine for how long children will have to face the flood-related problem after the water subsides.
According to the UNICEF, around 90,000 children are out of school due to flooded classrooms, teachers displaced, and schools used as shelters.
The UN agency is planning to speed up the response and reach some of the more remote areas across Jonglei, Upper Nile, Unity, Warrap, Northern Bahr El Ghazal, Unity, and Eastern Equatoria, and is currently being finalized. The international body said the crisis requires a coordinated response with the government and all partners supported by the international community.
“It is a liquid situation in all aspects. The prevalence of malaria and waterborne diseases are increasing while children are cut off from essential services due to flooded buildings, impassable roads, and destroyed bridges,” Ayoya said.
He said children are separated from their parents and over 70,000 families are displaced, noting that forecasts indicate the rain will continue for weeks.
