Amid direst humanitarian situations in South Sudan, attacks on aid workers continue to surge, making delivery of assistance to those in need across the country even harder.
Attacks on humanitarian workers have continued to surge in recent months with the latest being a Plan International aid worker getting killed in Pibor.
The killing brings the tally of aid workers killed in the country to eight only in 2020. South Sudan has seen relative stability since 2018 when the peace deal was signed.
However, situations outside the capital Juba remained volatile with aid workers killed when they are duty-bound.
In a press statement last week, Alain Noudéhou, Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan condemned the killing in Pibor, few weeks after the attack on the World Food Program’s boat convoy, killing one humanitarian worker and injuring several others by unidentified gunmen.
He said such violence against humanitarian workers impacted efforts in providing lifesaving assistance to vulnerable women, children and elderly people in areas plagued by natural disasters and intercommunal violence.
“I strongly condemn this attack and the killing of yet another humanitarian worker, this time in the Pibor area.
“I call once again for authorities and communities at all levels to guarantee the safety and security of aid workers and the people they serve. The perpetrators of this violent act must be brought to justice and be held accountable,” Noudéhou said.
Last month, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Peter Mayen condemned attacks on aid workers in the moment majority of South Sudanese, more than half the population were in need of support.
According to the Office for the United Nations Humanitarian Coordination Affairs (UNOCHA), the last week’s death of an aid worker brought the total number of aid workers killed to 122 since outbreak of the conflict in 2013.
“Two aid workers were killed in Jonglei’s Duk County while providing health and nutrition services to community members, primarily for women and children. This significantly impacted healthcare provision in the area and brought the number of aid workers killed since 2013 to 122,” he added.
However, Noudéhou said there has been improvement in humanitarian access in past months due to decrease in intercommunal violence.
“According to reports received, humanitarian access to people in need
improved between July and September, partly due to a decrease in
sub-national violence with the onset of the rain season. A total of 117 reported access incidents took place in the third quarter, a 29 percent decrease from 163 in the second quarter,” he said.