Kieran Guilbert
06:54 17/06/2015
London - Helicopters have delivered life-saving supplies to
thousands of people uprooted by fighting in South Sudan to help them
survive the lean season, aid agencies said on Tuesday ahead of a
pledging conference for the conflict-hit country.
Recent violence
in the greater Upper Nile region has forced some 150 000 people to flee
to hard-to-reach areas, with many abandoning their land before they
could plant crops, according to UN agencies and aid groups.
Survival
kits have been delivered to some 30 000 people in Unity State in the
north. They include mosquito nets, fishing supplies, water purification
tablets and nutritional biscuits for children.
The
number of South Sudanese going hungry - some 4.6 million people
including nearly a million children under five - has almost doubled
since the start of the year.
"Hundreds of thousands of children
are malnourished, at risk of disease and death, yet they are the future
doctors, lawyers, civil servants and community leaders of South Sudan,"
said Ronald-Paul Veilleux, International Rescue Committee country
director.
Further risk of violence
"Not
getting aid to them in time further undermines the development potential
of this nation," he said in a statement ahead of the Geneva pledging
conference in which international agencies are appealing for $1.63bn.
More
than 2 million people have been uprooted since fighting erupted 18
months ago between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and rebels
allied with his former deputy, Riek Machar.
Heavy fighting in
Unity and Upper Nile states has forced aid agencies to suspend
activities and in some cases relocate staff, leaving tens of thousands
of people vulnerable.
The
UN Food and Agriculture Organisation said it was working to ensure the
delivery of supplies would not put relief workers and those in need of
aid at further risk of violence.
For many displaced communities,
the survival kits could be the only aid they receive during the next few
weeks of the annual lean season, according to the agencies.
Only 36% of the South Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan 2015 - $656m - has been funded to date, according to the United Nations.
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