UNICEF reached isolated families in Wiechjol, Akobo County, and Waat, Nyirol County, in Jonglei state through the Rapid Response Mechanism.
Fighting between government and opposition forces has displaced communities, made roads unsafe and forced health facilities to close. “Access challenges in Jonglei state have left the lives of mothers and their children hanging in the balance,” UNICEF South Sudan Country Representative Noala Skinner said.
The supplies included therapeutic food for children experiencing acute malnutrition, water-treatment products, hygiene kits and essential medicines.
Response teams screened 1 666 children under five for acute malnutrition. Of those, 146 were admitted for lifesaving treatment, while 602 children with moderate acute malnutrition were referred for follow-up care.
Another 331 caregivers received guidance on improving nutrition among infants and young children.
Skinner said surveys found that global acute malnutrition in Akobo West exceeded 40%, placing the area among the worst affected in South Sudan. “The RRM missions are important, but operating conditions in northern Jonglei remain challenging,” Skinner said.
Healthcare teams treated 1 241 patients, including 250 children under five. Services covered malaria, respiratory infections, acute watery diarrhoea and skin diseases.
Water filters and purification supplies were distributed to 1 200 families, while 200 women and girls received hygiene kits. More than 2 000 people received information about hygiene and disease prevention.
UNICEF said damaged water infrastructure, inadequate sanitation and limited healthcare continued to drive preventable childhood illness.
Conflict and displacement were also increasing protection risks, including family separation and recruitment of children by armed groups. “For many families, this was the first help they had seen in months,” Skinner said.
“But what we found shows how much more is needed, and how quickly conditions can deteriorate if access continues to be constrained in these areas.”
UNICEF called for safe and sustained humanitarian access, protection of children, reliable supplies of therapeutic food, medicine and clean water, and flexible funding for emergency operations.
The agency said continued financing would allow humanitarian organisations to position supplies closer to vulnerable communities and deploy multidisciplinary response teams rapidly when emergencies occurred.
–UN/ChannelAfrica–
