FUNDING OF €2 MILLION is being provided to aid agencies responding to the worsening crisis in South Sudan while €1.4 million is being provided to support emergency services in Syria.
The funding for South Sudan will be used to provide clean water and to tackle hunger among vulnerable communities and in refugee camps across the border, in Ethiopia.
Announcing the funding to aid agencies including Goal, the World Food Programme and World Vision, announcement, Minister Sherlock, said:
“The vast majority of South Sudanese refugees arriving in Ethiopia are women and children. Many are in very poor health having walked for weeks to reach shelter.
The rates of malnutrition in these camps are alarming, so this funding will go directly to address the very urgent needs of vulnerable South Sudanese refugees.
“Malnutrition rates among children have more than doubled, while almost 750,000 children have been internally displaced and more than 320,000 are living as refugees.”
Humanitarian Assistance
This additional support brings Ireland’s total funding to help those affected by the crisis in South Sudan to over €10.5 million in 2014.
Minister for Development, Trade Promotion and North South Co-operation, Seán Sherlock added:
This funding will help reduce outbreaks of disease by ensuring clean water, improve food security among vulnerable communities by providing fishing kits, livestock, and food vouchers, and will support the reduction of the number of children dying from malnutrition.
It was also announced today that €1.14 million is being provided to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in support of their emergency operations associated with the Syrian conflict.
Making the announcement, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Marine, Simon Coveney said,
“WFP is providing critical life-saving humanitarian assistance in this region, this conflict has been long and protracted leading to devastating consequences for the Syrian people as well imposing enormous humanitarian burdens on the neighbouring countries, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq and Turkey which are hosting large and increasing numbers of refugees.”
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