USAID staff prepare ventilator shipments. Photo credit Staff Sgt. Keith James / U.S. Air Force

The United States Government has provided more than 195 million dollars in additional humanitarian assistance for South Sudan.

This is to help the World Food Program provide emergency food and nutrition assistance to more than 1.2 million crisis-affected people across the country.

Aid agencies say more than two-thirds of South Sudan’s population will require humanitarian assistance this year, an increase of 600,000 since 2021.

This year, they said, South Sudan is expected to face its highest levels of food insecurity and malnutrition since its independence.

In a statement issued yesterday by the USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, the funding will also facilitate provision of essential health care, livelihood support, and protection services for nearly 1.5 million people.

It will also build community resilience to future shocks.

Meanwhile, the U.S. calls on the government of South Sudan to swiftly implement the peace agreement and take stronger measures to end local violence.

It urged the government to further hold accountable persons responsible for any attack on humanitarian workers and denying humanitarian access.

The United States reaffirmed its commitment to help the people of South Sudan and calls on other donors to increase their contributions towards humanitarian response.