WHO? Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, and UNDP Resident Representative to South Sudan, Mr Eugene Owusu
 

WHAT? Press Conference
WHERE? United Nations Regional Information Center for Western Europe (UNRIC)
Residence Palace, Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 155, Block C2, 8th floor, Brussels 1040
WHEN? Thursday 06 April 2017: 13.30 – 14.30
HOW? Please register by sending an email to benelux@unric.org 

DETAILS: FAMINE AND HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN SOUTH SUDAN 
•    Mr Eugene Owusu, DSRSG/RC/HC for South Sudan, will be in Brussels for a South Sudan humanitarian leadership mission (6 - 7 April)
•    The humanitarian crisis in South Sudan is dire and is deepening and escalating rapidly across the country. An estimated 7.5 million people – more than one in two across the country - are in need of humanitarian assistance and new clashes since the beginning of 2017 have uprooted tens of thousands civilians. An estimated 3.4 million people have now been displaced, including 1.9 million who are internally displaced and 1.5 million who have fled as refugees to neighbouring countries. 
•    Food insecurity and malnutrition have reached unprecedented levels, with localised famine declared in Leer and Mayendit counties of Unity on 20 February. Insecurity and lack of access have left 100,000 people facing starvation, and a further 1 million others classified as being on the brink of famine. Some one million children in South Sudan are acutely malnourished. In July 2016, some 4.8 million people--more than one in three people in South Sudan--were estimated to be severely food insecure. In 2017,  some 4.9 million people are now estimated to be severely food insecure, country-wide and this number is expected to rise to 5.5 million at the height of the lean season in July. 
•    The EU and ECHO are leading partners in response to the crisis in South Sudan and there is need to keep the momentum up in order to alleviate the suffering, scale up response and avert further deterioration in the humanitarian situation. 

CONTACT DETAILS    
UNRIC EU-Benelux Desk:
Christophe Verhellen (verhellen@unric.org) +32 (0)2 788 84 54
Frederik Bordon (bordon@unric.org) +32 (0)2 788 84 71