JUBA, South Sudan, July 14, 2016 – UNICEF and our partners are providing urgent life-saving assistance to thousands of people displaced by last weekend’s heavy fighting in Juba, South Sudan.
Four trucks of supplies were dispatched from UNICEF warehouses and taken to a UN displacement site in Juba as soon as movement became possible in the city yesterday. High-energy food bars were also distributed at two churches where families have gathered.
“The people hit hardest by this fighting are struggling to cope in appalling conditions,” said Mahimbo Mdoe, UNICEF’s Representative in South Sudan. “They are desperate for water, food and in need of medical assistance.”
The relief items dispatched include supplies for the treatment of malnutrition, as well as sanitation items such as water containers and soap. Primary health care kits and play materials for children will be distributed today.
Teams from UNICEF, and its partner organisations, are also working to assess the extent of humanitarian need and they have begun tracing families for children who became separated from their parents as they fled fighting. Plans are in place to assist up to 50,000 people affected by the conflict.
“We are responding and that response will continue to grow, but it is vital that we are able to reach everyone in need and for that we must have unrestricted humanitarian access,” said Mdoe.
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*Photos of our supplies being loaded onto trucks in Juba available on request*
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For more information, please contact:
Aedín Donnelly, Communications and Media Manager for UNICEF Ireland aedin@unicef.ie| Tel: +353 1 809 0281 | Mob: +353 85 1395272
Tim Irwin, UNICEF South Sudan: +211 912 162 888 tjirwin@unicef.org
