NEWS in brief
Around Africa
He says : “ We do have quite a large amount of money that was allocated to the department as per usual because we ’ re one of those critical departments that have got to do basic service delivery and out of the R15.5 billion that was allocated to the department , as of now we have spent over R12.5 billion . We ’ re still left with over R2 billion available
In October 2016 , the Auditor General reported that the Department of Water and Sanitation ’ s irregular expenditure
South Sudan agriculture and nutrition assistance . Unimpeded humanitarian access to everyone facing famine , or at risk of famine , is urgently needed to reverse the escalating catastrophe , the UN agencies urged . Further spread of famine can only be prevented if humanitarian assistance is scaled up and reaches the most vulnerable .
Famine is currently affecting parts of Unity State in the northern-central part of the country . A formal famine declaration means people have already started dying of hunger . The situation is the worst hunger catastrophe since
“ Famine has become a tragic reality in parts of South Sudan and our worst fears have been realised . Many families have exhausted every means they have to survive ,” said FAO Representative in South Sudan Serge Tissot . “ The people are predominantly farmers and war has disrupted agriculture . They ’ ve lost their livestock , even their farming tools . For months there has been a total reliance on whatever plants
Malnutrition is a major public health emergency , exacerbated
Famine Hits Parts of South Sudan Juba — UN agencies warn that almost 5 million people urgently need food , agriculture and nutrition assistance
War and a collapsing economy have left some 100,000 people facing starvation in parts of South Sudan where famine was declared on 20 February , three UN agencies
the brink of famine .
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations ( FAO ), the United Nations Children ’ s Fund ( UNICEF ) and the World Food Programme ( WFP ) also warned that urgent action is needed to prevent more people from dying of hunger . If sustained and adequate assistance is delivered urgently , the hunger situation can be improved in the coming months and further suffering mitigated . The total number of food insecure people is expected to rise to 5.5 million at the height of the lean season in July if nothing is done to curb the severity and spread of the food crisis .
According to the Integrated Food Security Phase health services and low coverage of sanitation facilities . The IPC report estimates that 14 of the 23 assessed counties have global acute malnutrition ( GAM ) at or above the emergency threshold of 15 percent , with some areas as high as 42 percent .
“ More than one million children are currently estimated to be acutely malnourished across South Sudan ; over a quarter of a million children are already severely malnourished . If we do not reach these children with urgent aid many of them will die ,” said Jeremy Hopkins , UNICEF Representative a . i in South Sudan . “ We urge all parties to allow humanitarian organizations unrestricted access to the affected populations , so we can assist the most vulnerable and prevent yet another humanitarian catastrophe .”
Zimbabwe Bridge Collapse Creates Health Time Bomb As
government , the three agencies and other humanitarian partners , 4.9 million people – more than 40 percent of South Sudan ’ s population – are in need of urgent food ,
6 Africa Water , Sanitation & Hygiene • March - April 2017