Norway contributes over NOK 40 million additional funds to FAO for Emergency Livelihood Response in South Sudan
The Government of Norway has contributed NOK 42.3million (approx. USD 5 million) to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations for the 2019 Emergency Livelihood Response Programme in South Sudan. The funds are critical to supporting people to produce their own food, especially those who may be returning to their homes in 2019 to rebuild their lives.
The Norwegian Ambassador in Juba, Lars Andersen, and the FAO Representative a.i in South Sudan, Pierre Vauthier, signed the arrangement on Tuesday, 4 December, 2018.
“Norway is proud to be a long standing partner with FAO on improving the livelihood of the people of South Sudan,” said Mr. Lars at the signing ceremony.
“Norway believes that the Emergency Livelihood Response Programme represents a particularly valuable contribution to boosting recovery and resilience. This contribution will hopefully allow people to recover from shocks. The primary reason for the desperate humanitarian situation has been the conflict. Now that the parties have committed themselves to ending the conflict through the peace R-ARCSS, it is vital that they demonstrate serious commitment in ending the conflict once and for all, so that people can be strengthened to rebuild themselves” said Mr. Lars.
According to the September 2018 Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis, an earlier than normal start of the lean season resulted in an estimated 6.1 million people (59% of the total population) facing worsening food insecurity at the peak of the lean season between July and August 2018, with 47,000 people facing catastrophic levels of hunger. Levels of acute malnutrition are again expected to increase in the first quarter of 2019 as most households are expected to deplete food stocks from own production.
“The international community has saved millions of lives during the conflict in South Sudan. It is now time to do it in a manner that strengthens food security in the long run,” the ambassador stressed.
The IPC report also indicated that extreme levels of acute food insecurity are expected to persist in many areas where poor harvests are likely and access to humanitarian assistance may be limited for a section of the population.
Possible returns from within and outside the country as well as insecurity, lack of freedom of movement and the extreme depletion of livelihoods may cause further pressure on already scarce resources.
“The conflict forced many people to flee their homes, often losing their livelihoods in the process. With the signing of the revitalized peace agreement, we have to be ready to support those returning to their homes so that they can produce their own food so that they are not forced to depend on emergency assistance forever. This contribution from Norway is critical to enabling FAO to help returnees to rebuild their livelihoods,” said Pierre Vauthier, FAOR a.i.
According to the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 1.74 million South Sudanese were internally displaced and 2.47 million others were refugees in neighbouring countries as of July 2018.