Three years after independence, the people of South Sudan are facing their most dire crisis yet. USAID is responding with lifesaving humanitarian assistance including food, nutrition and clean water, as well as desperately needed basic medicines, education for displaced children and innovative means of reaching displaced populations with information about the risk of cholera and how to prevent infection.
Violence and insecurity in South Sudan have forced more than 1 million people from their homes since mid-December. More than 380,000 children been forced to uproot, when they should be playing in the safety of their communities. While fleeing, some get separated from their families. Helping some of these devastated families reunite may be one of the few bright spots in the midst of this horrible conflict.
On the first of April, I walked with great sadness through the United Nations compound in Juba, capital of South Sudan, the world’s newest nation, now in free fall after a hopeful beginning three years ago. The compound is sheltering more than 21,000 displaced people who fled to safety after a spasm of violence in mid-December killed untold thousands.
