Wednesday May 28, 2014

South Sudan Crisis

South Sudan is facing its first major humanitarian crisis since it was established as the world’s newest independent nation in 2011, with up to 7.3 million people at risk of starvation. Islamic Relief is providing vital assistance to thousands of people, including emergency shelter materials, clean water, sanitation,  primary health care, hygiene kits and mosquito nets.

The root of the crisis is a violent six-month conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people and driven 1.3 million from their homes. Jonglei, Unity and Upper Nile states worst affected.
Many of those displaced have lost everything they owned. Some have fled to neighbouring countries, while others are sheltering in over-crowded camps within South Sudan. The insanitary conditions in these makeshift camps have already caused outbreaks of severe communicable diseases such as malaria, acute diarrhoea and,  cholera.
The conflict has seen many buildings set alight and burned to the ground, including some where vital medical supplies were being stored. Many of those displaced have occupied school buildings. There have been cases of sexual violence perpetrated by armed groups.

Farming has been severely disrupted because people have been unable to harvest their crops or forced to abandon their land. The President of South Sudan has warned aid agencies and the UN that famine could be just around the corner.
Islamic Relief has been helping those affected by the conflict since the fighting broke out in December 2013. We have provided essential medical supplies in the worst-hit areas, and improved primary health care and sanitation by building latrines and bathrooms. We’re supporting displaced communities by providing plastic sheeting and bamboo poles to build makeshift shelters, drilling wells in some places and supplying mosquito nets and hygiene kits. We’re also developing plans to scale up our distribution of food and other aid in partnership with other organisations.

The next few weeks and months will be critical for the people of South Sudan – now is the time to act if we are help them avert a widespread famine.
To support Islamic Relief’s work in South Sudan – as well as the emergency aid work we are currently doing in Afghanistan, Bosnia and the Central African Republic please donate to our Global Emergency Fund. This is the fund that we draw from to tackle major emergencies around the world as swiftly and effectively as possible.

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