August 5, 2015, Nicolas Moyer in Thought Leaders
The world’s youngest country just turned four years old and very few people noticed. In fact, on July 9th, there was no mention of the anniversary to be found in Canada’s leading news outlets. With so much else happening on the international stage, the lack of coverage is not a complete surprise.
But what is most disturbing is that while the world looks away, this young country has been in the grips of a civil war for 19 months. The violent political conflict has displaced a growing total of two million people, a quarter of whom were forced to seek refuge in neighbouring countries. Today, in this new nation that once harboured genuine hope for peace and prosperity, only 45 per cent of citizens have access to clean drinking water. The price of basic items such as flour, cooking oil, and vegetables has increased so much that households spend up to 80 per cent of their income on food.
After narrowly avoiding a famine last year, seven months into 2015, the number of people living in severe food insecurity is well on its way to reaching 4.6 million, or 40 per cent of the total population. This includes almost 250,000 children under five who are acutely malnourished.
Such is the sad, and worsening, situation in South Sudan.
The UN estimates that US$1.8 billion will be required this year alone to assist the people of South Sudan. Global efforts are under way to help those millions whose livelihood and safety are affected by the crisis. Humanitarian relief agencies, such as the members of the Humanitarian Coalition (the Canadian affiliates of CARE, Oxfam, Plan and Save the Children) have been working on the ground since well before the start of the violent clashes in December 2013. They are digging and rehabilitating wells, installing water sanitation stations, providing food, temporary shelters, medical services, and safe spaces for children.
Having built trusted relationships with partner organizations over years of responding to development and emergency needs in the region, these NGOs are all too familiar with the humanitarian impact of the conflict. To reach more vulnerable people and help more families, they are deploying every means at their disposal, stretching tight budgets, appealing to donors, and regularly raising the case of South Sudan with governments around the world.
In Canada, on the anniversary of South Sudan’s independence, the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD) issued a brief statement calling for peace in the country. A week earlier, it had announced a total of $40 million in available funds for the implementation of programs that will increase food production and support local farmers in South Sudan.
While these actions are welcome, the Humanitarian Coalition and its member agencies believe that more should be done to bring an immediate end to the armed conflict and help those whose lives have been so profoundly affected. Efforts to restore peace and assist the people of South Sudan clearly need a champion. As a member of the G7, we look to Canada to play that leading role, both diplomatically and in terms of funding.
The escalating attacks and threats to people’s safety are at the root of population displacements, which in turn keep farmers from seeding and harvesting their fields, which leads to food shortages and prohibitive market prices. This dangerous cycle is already responsible for the shattering of countless communities.
Because aid experts, the UN, and donor governments understand these dynamics, we have a shared responsibility to defuse them. Doing this will require considerable financial resources, steadfast political commitment, and above all, a sense of urgency that has so far been fatally missing.
Next year, on South Sudan’s five-year anniversary, never mind the cake. It will be reason enough to celebrate if all South Sudanese can simply eat.