UNMISS' Anita Gbeho and Minister Albino Atak address the media in Juba. (-)

The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and United Nations’ Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan will embark on a joint assessment visit to six flood-prone states on July 29 to see first-hand the impact of flooding.

The government and the UN relief agency agreed on the visit during a meeting in Juba on Thursday.

Anita Kiki Gbeho, who doubles UNMISS Deputy Head of Mission and UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan, said the meeting is part of a coordinated approach regarding flood   preparedness in areas where flooding is already taking place.

Ms. Gbeho said, from next week, they will visit six priority states expected to suffer severe impact of flooding including Greater Pibor Administrative Area.

“Our discussion focused on the flooding and the planning for the flood. We’ve agreed that starting next week,” she said told reporters in Juba.

The six states forecasted to experience devastating floods are; Jonglei, Upper Nile, Warrap, Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Unity, Lakes, and Central and Eastern Equatoria states.

Ms. Gbeho further said the high-risk states will include a visit to the Greater Pibor Administrative Area, already grappling with dire hunger due to blocked supply routes.

“It will be a chance to interact with our colleagues jointly on the UN side and the International Community to ensure we have a coordinated approach regarding preparedness and most importantly response in areas where flooding is already taking place.”

“For example, in Unity State, we know in the southern part, we already see high levels of water. Another example would be Aweil that the minister was briefing me about where we’re already saw flooding.”

Meanwhile, Humanitarian and Disaster Minister Albino Atalk said the mission is to carry out needs assessment on the ground and coordinate relief efforts.

“This plan is what we are now trying to put in operation. One of the mechanisms is to plan for a  visit to these states that are mostly going to be affected.”

“We have discussed the details of how we are going to visit those states by state, and date by date, and even their intended purpose of course is to go and coordinate with the local authorities both the government and our partners.”

Severe flooding has been a recurring issue in South Sudan, exacerbating existing humanitarian challenges.

It impacts agriculture, displaces communities, and hampers access to basic services such as healthcare and education.