UNICEF Calls for $278 Million to Aid South Sudanese Youth in 2025

Juba, Dec 6 (NationPress) The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has made an urgent request for $278.2 million to assist children in South Sudan during the year 2025 as the humanitarian crisis worsens.

UNICEF emphasized the deteriorating conditions in South Sudan, where insufficient funding has critically affected humanitarian efforts. "Approximately 9 million individuals, which includes 4.9 million children, 2.2 million women, and 1.4 million people living with disabilities, require humanitarian aid," the UN agency reported.

As South Sudan prepares for a tough year in 2025, it faces escalating vulnerabilities, increased humanitarian demands, and significant cuts to aid funding. The political environment remains unstable following a two-year delay of the general elections that were initially planned for December, according to the Xinhua news agency.

UNICEF pointed out that a combination of crises, such as severe flooding attributed to climate change, ongoing conflicts, disease outbreaks, economic decline, and a surge of refugees and returnees fleeing conflict in Sudan, has worsened the nation's struggles.

Between April 2023 and October 10, 2024, over 826,000 individuals, including 415,000 children, have entered South Sudan escaping violence in Sudan, as per UN data. Currently, South Sudan is home to more than 484,000 refugees, and an estimated 2 million residents are internally displaced, primarily due to flooding, intercommunal strife, and food shortages.

Children are especially at risk during this crisis, facing increased threats of abuse, violence, exploitation, and emotional trauma, according to UNICEF. "Adolescents are particularly susceptible to the consequences of ongoing conflicts, poverty, displacement, and gender-based violence, including forced marriages," the agency stated.