Nick Dyer (middle) during a press conference in Juba on July 22, 2021/Lasuba Memo/Eye Radio.

The UK Special Envoy for Famine Prevention and Humanitarian Affairs has lamented the worsening humanitarian crisis in South Sudan.

Nick Dyer said the situation is aggravated by the upsurge in inter-communal violence and attacks on humanitarian actors.

The special envoy arrived in South Sudan over the weekend to assess the humanitarian situation in the country.

During the five-day visit, Nick Dyer traveled to Kuajok and Tonj North in Warrap state.

The two areas recently witnessed an upsurge in communal violence and the looting of humanitarian assistance.

According to UK Special Envoy, the conflict is the major driver of food insecurity in the country.

“We have seen in some states nutrition centers that have been closed because of the conflict….a hospital funded by UK Aid that’s completely closed. If you find people who can’t plant, they can’t get access to services, they end up in humanitarian crisis,” Nick Dyer said in a media briefing in Juba Thursday.

The UK Special Envoy further called on the government to speed up the implementation of the peace agreement in order to bring stability to the whole country.

Nick Dyer reminded the government of its primary responsibility of providing services to its citizens.

“What you have seen in the country over the years has been a shift from development funding to humanitarian funding, the bulk of our funding is for humanitarian work and that’s because the humanitarian need is huge,”he said.

“The population of South Sudan should not just rely on the international donor community to provide services to the community, that’s not our job, but the government’s,” Dyer added.

The UK Special Envoy for Famine Prevention and Humanitarian Affairs further said the government of South Sudan can only provide services “if there is a broader efforts to implement the revitalized peace agreement.”

South Sudan relies almost entire on humanitarian assistance for its needy population.

According to the UN, due to violence, South Sudan is currently facing its worst food crisis on record: an estimated 30,000 people are living in famine-like conditions and more than 7 million people face severe food insecurity.