As the world’s youngest country, South Sudan faces numerous challenges. More than half its people don’t have enough to eat, and inter-communal violence has left hundreds of thousands in need of basic life-saving aid. Since conflict broke out in Sudan’s Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile States in 2011, over 170,000 refugees have fled to South Sudan’s Unity and Upper Nile States in search of safety. Hundreds of refugees continue to arrive every month, many of them malnourished and destitute.
UN agencies and humanitarian organizations are providing life-saving aid to displaced people and those who are short of food, but lack of access and limited funding are affecting their work. This year’s humanitarian appeal for US$1.1 billion is only 57 per cent funded so far.
Toby Lanzer was appointed Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan in July 2012. Here, he talks about the country’s humanitarian and development priorities.