HIGHLIGHTS
Humanitarian partners respond following violence in Malakal Protection of Civilians Site.
Fighting in Pibor has left at least five humanitarian facilities looted and thousands of people have been displaced.
Insecurity in Wau increases needs.
Secretary-General announces US$21 million from CERF during visit to South Sudan.
FIGURES
No. of Internally Displaced Persons 1.69 million
No. of refugees in neighboring countries (post 15 Dec 2013) 640,034
No. of severely food insecure people from Jan - Mar 2016 2.8 million
FUNDING
$84 million funding received in 2016 (including $21 m from CERF)
6% of appeal funding received in 2016
$1.29 billion requirements for South Sudan 2016 Humanitarian Response Plan
Humanitarian partners respond following violence in Malakal Protection of Civilians Site
Humanitarian partners have rapidly mobilized additional staff and supplies to respond to new needs generated by the violence that took place in Malakal Protection of Civilians (PoC) site on 17 and 18 February. At least 25 people, including three aid workers, were killed, and more than 120 wounded. About 3,700 families’ shelters were destroyed or damaged during the fighting and fires, along with multiple humanitarian facilities, including clinics, water tankers, nutrition centers and schools. There are credible reports of armed men in Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) uniforms entering the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) camp and firing on civilians during the fighting.
Prior to the violence, there were around 47,000 internally displaced people (IDP) sheltering in Malakal PoC. During the fighting, about 26,000 of the IDPs fled inside the UNMISS base, while around 4,000 IDPs fled from the PoC to Malakal town, where they are staying in public buildings and abandoned houses.
In the PoC, humanitarian partners immediately set up temporary water points and treated people wounded during the fighting. Partners are constructing emergency latrines, distributing hygiene and sanitation items, and establishing temporary clinics to continue providing services. Distribution of food to more than 40,100 people has been completed, and more than 8,600 children have been provided with supplementary feeding.
More than 6,300 households have been provided with vital non-food items, such as mosquito nets and blankets, and nearly 1,500 shelter kits have been distributed to the most vulnerable households. Many children were separated from their families during the chaos, and child protection partners have already reunited 58 children with their families.
In Malakal town, partners distributed high-energy biscuits to children in the days following the violence and have since distributed food for more than 4,600 people, along with water purification tablets and other basic WASH supplies, such as buckets and collapsible jerry cans.
Efforts are ongoing to reestablish health and nutrition services in the town and partners have engaged intensively with authorities to secure the necessary assurances regarding the safety of civilians accessing and transporting assistance, the safety and security of aid workers, and the demilitarization of areas where assistance and protection is being provided.