Ireland to provide 40 tonnes of emergency aid to South Sudan
2/1/14
Ireland to provide 40 tonnes of emergency aid to South Sudan—Minister for Trade and Development
Ireland is to dispatch emergency supplies to assist thousands of families affected by the recent violence in South Sudan, Minister for Trade and Development Joe Costello TD announced today.
Some 40 tonnes of emergency supplies will be dispatched in the coming days, Minister Costello said.
“I am deeply concerned about the continuing violence in South Sudan and its devastating impact on the civilian population. 180,000 people have fled their homes since violence erupted on 15 December, with 75,000 people sheltering in UN compounds across the country. The essential supplies provided by Ireland will be distributed by our NGO partner Concern, to meet the immediate needs of those affected.”
The emergency stocks include:
- 12,220 Blankets
- 5,000 Jerry Cans
- 1,900 Mosquito Nets
- 1,000 Kitchen Sets
The Minister added:
“The escalation of violence threatens to return South Sudan to its violent past. I urge South Sudanese political leaders to fully engage in the ongoing peace talks in Addis Ababa, being led by regional organisations including the African Union, and immediately cease all hostilities.
“I call on all parties to the conflict to respect human rights and to allow access to humanitarian organisations so that they can provide assistance to vulnerable people.
“Ireland is continuing to monitor the situation closely and, with our United Nations and European Union partners, stand ready to provide further assistance.”
2 January 2014
Press Office
Notes to editor
- Minister Costello is available for interview.
- Irish Aid is the Government’s overseas development programme. It is managed by the Development Cooperation Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
- Through its Rapid Response Initiative, Irish Aid has established a strategic partnership with the World Food Programme, which manages the UN Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD) Network. The Network maintains a stockpile of emergency humanitarian supplies in five hubs around the globe. The hubs are in Accra, Brindisi, Dubai, Panama and Subang.
- The supplies in question are being delivered from the hub in Accra, Ghana.
- South Sudan is the newest but also one of the poorest states in Africa. Since independence in 2011, South Sudan has been plagued by a series of crises that have generated considerable humanitarian needs; conflict, militia attacks, border disputes and flooding.
- Recent fighting between rival factions demonstrates South Sudan’s fragile security context. This violence followed what the government claims was an attempted coup in the capital Juba on Sunday 15 December. The violence reportedly springs from a long-running power struggle between South Sudan’s president, Salva Kiir, and Riek Machar, whom Kiir removed from his post as vice-president earlier this year.
- In 2013, Ireland provided €4 million in humanitarian funding to South Sudan. Of this, a total of €2.5 million has been disbursed through the UN while over €1.5 million in funding has been disbursed through NGOs partners Goal, MSF, World Vision and Trócaire to meet humanitarian needs across the country in 2013.