Fifty-five NGOs have been deeply alarmed at the scale of human suffering seen in the country in the past six weeks, and so welcome the recent signing in Addis Ababa of a cessation of hostilities agreement between the Government of South Sudan and the opposition forces.
Juba, South Sudan, 25th January 2014.- Fifty-five major humanitarian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in South Sudan have expressed their deep concern about the current humanitarian si
Notes to Editors
Background
South Sudan
South Sudan gained independence on 9th July 2011, and is the world’s newest country. Out of a population of about 12 million, it is estimated that more than half a million people have been displaced since fighting broke out just over one month ago.
Humanitarian Principles
Further details on humanitarian principles are given in the Code of Conduct for The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief, available at www.ifrc.org/en/publications-and-reports/code-of-conduct/
The Fifty-Five NGOs
The majority of the fifty-five NGOs have been working in South Sudan for at least ten years, and several have been present for more than 30 years. In 2013, the agencies collectively spent over one-quarter of a billion US dollars on humanitarian and development programmes to assist the people of South Sudan.
Each NGO is registered in South Sudan with the Ministry of Justice and the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC), and every NGO is obliged to respect the Transitional Constitution of South Sudan, and abide by the country’s laws.
Details of the five NGOs specifically quoted above are as follows:
ACTED has worked in South Sudan since 2007, and in response to the current crisis has been acting as site manager (including coordination, site planning and community mobilization) for locations hosting internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Juba, Awerial and Bor, as well as providing water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services for IDPs in Juba.
The International Rescue Committee has worked in South Sudan since 1989, and is addressing Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and providing protection responses for IDPs sheltering at UNMISS bases in Juba. It is also preparing health, WASH, GBV and protection responses for people affected by conflict in Awerial County and Bentiu, and is planning a health and WASH response for IDPs at the UNMISS base in Bor, as and when the security situation permits.
Medairfirst worked in South Sudan in 1992, and has had a continuous presence since 1995. In response to the current crisis, its experienced emergency response teams are assisting displaced populations with WASH, health, nutrition and non-food items and emergency shelter (NFI/ES) services, in four locations in Juba, with other locations in Jonglei planned once suitable assessments have been completed.
Mercy Corps has been present in South Sudan since 2003. To address the current pressing humanitarian needs, it is providing NFI/ES assistance in two locations in Juba, is providing a WASH response for IDPs in Unity State, and is conducting assessments to determine the impact of the current crisis on markets and supply chains in Warrap.
Save the Childrenhas been working in South Sudan for over 20 years. In response to the current crisis it is providing child protection support to displaced communities in Juba, Awerial and Nimule, including working to reunify children separated during the conflict and providing psychosocial and education support services to children affected by conflict and displacement. It is planning to provide child protection, education and nutrition services in Bor and Malakal as soon as the security situation permits.
Contact Information
For further information and interview requests, please contact:
Grace Cahill, Humanitarian Press Officer, Oxfam, South Sudan: GCahill@oxfam.org.uk, +211 956 708 278, @grace_cahill
Adrien Tomarchio, Director of Communication, ACTED, France: adrien.tomarchio@acted.org, +33 6 85 91 28 62
Elisabeth Anderson Rapport, Senior Communication Officer, Action Against Hunger, USA: erapport@actionagainsthunger.org
Ilse Wermink, Programme Coordinator, Africa Educational Trust, UK: i.wermink@africaeducationaltrust.org
Bernd Serway, Country Representative, Caritas Switzerland, South Sudan: bserway@caritas.ch, +211 913 114 617
Amos Nderi, Country Manager, Christian Aid, South Sudan: ANderi@christian-aid.org, +211 956 955 103
Jos de Voogd, Press officer, Cordaid, Netherlands: jdv@cordaid.nl
Alex Mwaura, Media Officer, Food for the Hungry, South Africa: amwaura@fh.org
Hanan Nhass, Communications Officer, ICCO, Netherlands: Hanan.Nhass@icco-cooperation.org, +31 30 692 79 73
Daniel Zetterlund, Humanitarian Coordinator, IAS, Sweden: daniel.zetterlund@ias-intl.org, +46 707 777 378
Margaret Aguirre, Director of Global Communications, International Medical Corps, USA: maguirre@internationalmedicalcorps.org, +1 310 826 7800
Sophia Jones-Mwangi, Regional Media/Information Manager, International Rescue Committee, Kenya:
sophia.jones-mwangi@rescue.org, +254 7310 44422,
Abigail Woodcock, Press Relations Officer, Medair, Switzerland: Abigail.Woodcock@medair.org, +41 78 635 30 95
Lindsay Murphy, Communications Officer, Mercy Corps, USA: lmurphy@mercycorps.org, +1 503 896 5700
Rolf A. Vestvik, Director External Relations, Norwegian Refugee Council, Norway: rolf.vestvik@nrc.no,
+47 48 89 33 13
Regis Nyamakanga, Head of Communication, Plan International, Kenya: regis.nyamakanga@plan-international.org, +254 712 205 860
Helen Mould, Information & Communications Manager, Save the Children, South Sudan: helen.mould@savethechildren.org, +211922407211
Piet van Ommeren, Country Director, SNV, Netherlands: pvanommeren@snvworld.org, +31 6 51267597
Renaud Douci, Director of Communication, Solidarites International, France: rdouci@solidarites.org,
+33 6 98 96 58 35
Abby King or Sarah Greenwood, Media Team, Tearfund, UK: team.media@tearfund.org, + 44 208 943 7936
Abraham Nhial, Communications & PR Manager, World Vision, South Sudan: nhial_wei@wvi.org, +211 929 167 028