Family pack their belongings to leave their flooded home in Rumbek East County. (Social Media).

United Nations agencies have allocated at least 15 million US dollars to provide humanitarian assistance to over 700,000 South Sudanese affected by severe flooding across the country.

Part of the joint donation was about $10 million announced by the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to alleviate the floods impact in five worst-affected counties.

These are Aweil East in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State, Fangak in Jonglei State, Nasir in Upper Nile State, and Mayendit and Rubkona in Unity State.

The UN humanitarian agency OCHA said in a statement that the CERF funding will enable frontline humanitarian partners to deliver life-saving services to vulnerable communities already reeling from the devastating effects of flooding.

Meanwhile, UN Humanitarian Coordinator, Ms. Anita Kiki Gbeho, released an additional $5 million from the South Sudan Humanitarian Fund (SSHF) to complement the $10 million from CERF to bolster critical response pipelines and frontline services.

South Sudan faces unprecedented flooding, with forecasts predicting above-average rainfall, river flows from Uganda and potentially record-breaking floods.

According to OCHA, the joint flood preparedness and response plan, developed by the Government of South Sudan, the UN and partners, aims to assist 2.4 million people.

It identifies 20 high-risk counties across Warrap, Upper Nile, Unity, Jonglei/Greater Pibor Administrative Area, Lakes, Central Equatoria and Northern Bahr el Ghazal states as priority areas for intervention.

The agency said as of 12th September, over 735,000 people in 38 of South Sudan’s 78 counties and the Abyei Administrative Area have been affected by flooding.

“Floodwaters are already devastating lives and livelihoods across South Sudan,” said the Humanitarian Coordinator, Ms. Gbeho.

“Homes, crops and critical infrastructure have been destroyed, leaving communities without access to essential services such as health care and education and people displaced.”

“The swift release of funds is critical to support immediate flood response and replenish depleted core pipeline supplies. We sincerely thank our donors for their unwavering support in helping us alleviate suffering and prevent further loss.”

The South Sudan Cabinet approved a 78-million-US-dollar budget for emergency floods preparedness and response across the country in July 2024 after a memo by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management.

The funding is set to be released as the government struggles with meeting its spending amid dire economic crisis caused by dwindling oil revenue.

The 2024 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for South Sudan calls for $1.8 billion to assist 6 million people in need across South Sudan. As of 12 September, the appeal is 43.3 per cent funded.