The Indian government through its embassy in Juba has donated food items worth 50 tons in a show of support and provision of lifeline to people affected by the devastating floods in South Sudan.

The food items included 20 tons of first class rice and maize flour each and ten tons of sugar distributed to people uprooted by floods in different parts of the country.

The donation comes in time the humanitarian organizations are predicting severe famine and possible starvation in 2021when low crop yield is expected due to the negative impact of floods and desert locusts.

S.D Moorthy, Indian Ambassador to South Sudan said more supports were yet to come to help alleviate the suffering of the people in the country and to curb spread of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

 “This is not the final, more supports are going to come and very soon we are going to donate a consignment of COVID-19-related medicines to South Sudan,” Moorthy said.

Since its establishment, the government of India has made several donations to South Sudan, including medicines, food and offered scholarships to South Sudanese students in various fields as well as built capacity of young people.

Minister of Humanitarian and Disaster Management, Peter Mayen received the items on behalf of the government of the Republic of South Sudan on Wednesday last week.

The donation was also a demonstration of India’s continuous solidarity with the people and government of South Sudan since the onset of protracted war that killed thousands and displaced many more both within and to neighboring countries.

“I Thank the government of India for their unwavering support of the people of South Sudan. Our people are really suffering and they need help,” Minister Mayen said.

Economic meltdown spurred by COVID-19, pressure to implement the revitalized peace agreement and rife inter-communal violence that flunked the country this year meant the government committed insufficient resources (if any) to cater for flood victims, leaving them desperate for humanitarian relief.

Unlike 2019, this year’s floods affected nearly 1 million people, destroying livelihoods in over 30 counties from Equatoria, Upper Nile and Bah el Ghazal regions.

Addressing humanitarian situation has been largely a role taken up by humanitarian organizations and relief cooperation between South Sudan and donor countries around world as the government plays the spectator’s role.

According to the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Coordination (UNOCHA), more than half of the population of South Sudan could face severe food insecurity with thousands already at the acute stage.