The shooting deaths of two drivers with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in South Sudan last week underscored the country’s status as one of the deadliest for aid workers. But aid workers say help is needed now more than ever as the UN estimates 9.4 million people will need humanitarian assistance in 2023.
Since the beginning of the year, there have been close to 20 attacks on humanitarian aid workers, according to the World Food Programme country director in South Sudan, Mary Ellan. She told VOA the attacks could result in a large-scale loss of life if not stopped. In January of this year, for example, over 300 tons of food were looted in Jonglei state.
"That's enough food to feed 30,000 people for a month," she said. "These acts are deplorable because that road going to northern Jonglei and into Pibor is an artery of hope for over 1 million people who are currently food insecure."
The attack in Jonglei state that killed the two drivers led the UN agency to temporarily halt food deliveries throughout the area. Roads to areas in need of aid are often flooded and in disrepair, and aid workers say they face chronic danger from rebels, bandits and police.
"There is a proliferation of checkpoints. Our convoys spend a lot of time negotiating at these checkpoints to get past. We don't pay, but it takes time, and we lose hours delivering humanitarian cargo. Humanitarian cargo is not subject to taxes and levies", Ellan described a typical trip.
Peter Pal leads the Rapid Response Mechanism, the WFP team that delivers food assistance to remote areas of the country. He often takes the long journey on the highways from Juba to the most remote parts of the country, gathering data, registering individuals who have been rescued and delivering food to remote regions, often with no road access.
“We were doing registration and the water levels [rose], and for us to serve everyone coming to be registered, we have to bring the services closer to the people," Pal said. "We have to use the canoes, put the generators [in them], cross [to] the other side of the swamp and register them. This is not that easy, because we have to cross the swamp for 50 minutes on that small canoe with all your equipment." Later it began to rain, he said, and "we have to cover ourselves with a plastic sheet.”
Pal said that despite working in such a difficult environment, he gets satisfaction from serving those in need of help in some of the remotest areas.
"I think I have the courage of serving the people," he said. "I am here for a reason, because I am far better off than the suffering men and women. Let the government open humanitarian access to all areas where we serve the people. Let the government also embrace peace.”
Another aid employee, Juma, has been a humanitarian aid worker for five years. He said serving humanity is what makes him happy.
“I want to build a career where I can directly help vulnerable people due to many factors," he said. "There are incidents where other humanitarian workers have been killed while delivering aid assistance that have greatly affected me, but there is nothing that I can do and I cannot leave my work.”
However, Juma - who declined to give his real name because he was not authorized to speak to the media - said the job has hard moments, too.
“The regrettable moment that I cannot forget was in 2021 in greater Jonglei," he said. "In September we walked for 15 hours barefooted in the water to access the areas, so that incident continues to disturb me when I recall about it.”
John Simon Manyuon, Jonglei state's minister of information, called attacks on aid workers were "alarming and of much concern." He said the state government was finding it hard to provide security "because we don't have enough forces and tanks to be stationed along the roads" to address civilian, humanitarian and other needs. He urged humanitarian organizations to notify the government before sending out convoys so the state government could prepare to provide security for aid workers.
South Sudan is in the midst of a catastrophic humanitarian crisis driven by years of brutal civil war. Atrocities and attacks on civilians, including widespread sexual violence, defined the civil war. More than half of South Sudan’s population are facing extreme hunger and are in need of urgent humanitarian aid. Extensive flooding, violence and disease outbreak continue to impact people across the country.
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) reports the number of civilians harmed across South Sudan in 2022 has slightly increased, despite a 27 percent reduction in the overall number of documented violent incidents compared to the previous year.
With 4.5 million people forcibly displaced, South Sudan has the highest proportion - 40 percent - of its population displaced of any country in Africa. More than 2.3 million people have fled to neighboring countries. Most of them are now in Uganda which hosts 1 million South Sudanese refugees. 2,2 million people are internally displaced. Continued insecurity is still forcing tens of thousands of civilians to flee their homes.
The UN estimates that 9.4 million people require humanitarian assistance in 2023, an increase of half a million people compared to 2022. Among those in need are 4.7 million children.
South Sudan continues to be the most violent context for aid workers in the world. According to the Aid Worker Security Database (AWSD), nineteen humanitarian workers were killed in the country in 2022 alone.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says ongoing insecurity and violence against civilians and humanitarian workers affects the delivery of life-saving emergency supplies to people in an already dire situation. The work of humanitarian organizations is further hampered by access restrictions, bureaucratic obstacles, widespread crime, and inter-community violence.
Some information for this report provided by VOA.