South Sudan media sector is extremely underfunded and requires an urgent attention from stakeholders, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Earlier last year, the media association – AMDISS – said many media houses had been affected by the economic crisis facing the country.

It said almost half of the number of print media in the country closed down in 2017 due to high costs of operation.

AMDISS said the cost of printing newspapers – which has more than doubled – increased due to the

In a statement issued during the World Press Freedom day on Thursday, a UNESCO representative, Sardar Umar Alam, said as a result of poor funding, media houses are operating under difficult situation.

Mr. Umar said this represents a quite serious situation and requires an urgent support from all those who are concerned.

“Due to the ongoing situation, it has become really difficulty for almost all the media houses to operate, and they are facing immense pressure to coup with the prevailing economic situation,” he said.

He appealed to partners to invest in the development of the media sector as one of the major priorities for the future of South Sudan.

“If we want to invest in the future of South Sudan, among many priorities, we also have to invest in the development of the media sector, which is unfortunately extremely underfunded.”

According to Umar, South Sudan needs a thriving and flourishing media if the country is to become prosperous.