Clashes continue to be reported in Unity, Jonglei and Upper Nile States.
In Malakal, the protection of civilian (PoC) area of the base of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has been caught in the middle of fighting between government and opposition forces. Reports mention up to sixteen deaths and 120 wounded among the internally displaced people (IDP). Before the fighting broke out in the capital of Upper Nile State, there were more than 21 500 IDP in the PoC.
The Humanitarian Coordinator (HC) and the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) have reaffirmed the three top priorities in the deteriorating humanitarian crisis situation in South Sudan: (1) life-saving activities; (2) to help people to plant (the main planting season is in March and April) – otherwise a famine is looming in South Sudan; and (3) to pre-position food, non-food and medical items now and before the rainy season starts end April/early May to avoid expensive transport by air. 60% of South Sudan is cut off by floods during the rainy season.
However, pre-positioning is not possible without additional funding provided quickly. The revised USD1.27 billion Crisis Response Plan for South Sudan is only 17% funded. For example, OCHA reports zero % coverage for the WASH and Protection clusters and 2% of the financial needs of the Health cluster covered.
USD748 million are needed for the immediate pre-positioning of humanitarian pipelines – which is the most urgent priority now.