JUBA, Sept. 12 — The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Friday appealed for funding and increased international support to tackle floods that have displaced more than 100,000 people in South Sudan.
The UN refugee agency warned that if the flooding continues, about 400,000 people could be displaced by the end of the year, exceeding the levels seen in 2024.
“Without additional funding, the ability to provide shelter, protection, clean water and basic dignity to those already devastated by floods will remain severely constrained,” UNHCR Representative in South Sudan Marie-Helene Verney said in a statement.
The agency said South Sudan has been swept into a new cycle of severe flooding, just as renewed conflict threatens a fragile peace, leaving communities in some of the most flood- and conflict-prone states facing a double crisis.
Rising waters have submerged vast areas in Jonglei, Upper Nile and Unity states in recent weeks, displacing 100,000 people, many of whom had already been forced to flee their homes due to renewed conflict since February, it said.
“This is a stark indication of how people forced to flee are at the forefront of the impact of extreme weather.
The situation is of particular concern as many of these areas are already experiencing critical levels of food insecurity and still suffering the consequences of devastating floods in 2022,” Verney said.
She added that peak impacts are expected between September and October, threatening to cut off entire communities, worsen hunger and increase protection risks, particularly for women and girls.
According to the UNHCR, homes, schools and health facilities have been inundated, along with farmland and pasture, destroying livestock. South Sudan remains one of the largest displacement crises in Africa, with nearly 2.4 million South Sudanese refugees in neighboring countries, an estimated two million people internally displaced, and more than 589,000 refugees hosted in the country. (Xinhua)
