More than 300,000 people have been reached with assistance since the declaration of famine two weeks ago, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has said.

The agency says the people are in Leer, Mayiandit, Koch and Panyijiar in the former Unity State, where famine was declared two weeks ago.

Mid last month, the National Bureau of Statistics and three UN agencies declared famine in the country, especially in the former Unity State.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund and the World Food Program, thousands of people were facing starvation in Leer and Mayendit.

Now, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says more than 338,000 people in Leer, Mayiandit, Koch and Panyijiar have already received humanitarian assistance.

However, the agency says aid workers continue to face multiple obstacles to the delivery of humanitarian assistance across the country.

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Stephen O’Brien, has called for unhindered access to people in need of aid.

“This is only the beginning of the lean season and, sadly, things could get much, much worse in the months ahead,” Mr. O’Brien said on Sunday after the end of a 2-day visit to South Sudan.

“We desperately need the fighting to stop. We need calm to prevail now so that we can consistently reach people in dire need, and prevent further catastrophe.”