2:08The non-profit organization Nile Hope gathered food packages airdropped by Fogbow in June and distributed them to families.Fogbow
Last week, the United Nations’ World Food Programme executed humanitarian airdrops in South Sudan as the nation, less than twenty years old, grapples with escalating conflict while global aid initiatives are disrupted by a financial crisis, leaving over 2 million of the country’s children at risk of malnutrition.
The civil war in neighboring Sudan has resulted in 1 million displaced refugees who have entered the Upper Nile region of South Sudan, where the WFP stated it focused its airdrops as it was the sole means of reaching the area. These emergency food deliveries provide for some of the world’s most desperate populations as the U.S. — historically the leading humanitarian donor — embarks on a new foreign aid strategy under the guidance of the State Department, with officials expressing a willingness to explore unconventional methods to deliver assistance to those in need.
The organization announced in a press release that it was the first opportunity in over four months to provide food to the inhabitants of the isolated region. WFP informed ABC News it would persist in delivering aid via air.
"Airdrops are ongoing to achieve the intended target of 40,000 individuals," remarked Tomson Phiri, a spokesperson for WFP in the nation.
The non-profit organization Nile Hope gathered food packages airdropped by Fogbow in June and distributed them to families.Fogbow
The WFP airdrops, amounting to over 400 metric tons, follow those in the Upper Nile by Fogbow, a private American firm collaborating with humanitarian distributors on the ground.
Now dissolved, the U.S. Agency for International Development officially ceased operations on July 1 when the State Department took over its remaining initiatives. USAID’s workforce was reduced by 83%, and a “small number” were reemployed to continue their roles under the new system, according to a State Department spokesperson.
A senior State Department official indicated that a new agile bureaucracy accountable to Washington policymakers might be more inclined towards unconventional strategies such as airdrops.
“This transition has not hindered our investment in innovative solutions,” the official stated. “And once we navigate this transition and the programs settle here [at State], I believe the upcoming months will significantly reflect where we envision our future direction.”
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reports that $1.4 billion in funding for its programs is currently suspended or closed — leaving nearly 12 million refugees, or one-third of the world’s displaced populations, without access to its assistance.
Alongside the Trump administration’s restructuring of its foreign aid policy, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Germany have announced reductions in their own foreign assistance budgets.
This also affects South Sudan. A UNHCR report detailing the impact of aid cuts on refugees indicates that 75% of UNHCR-funded safe spaces, which have supported up to 80,000 women and girls who sought refuge there, have been closed.
The non-profit organization Nile Hope gathered food packages airdropped by Fogbow in June and distributed them to families.Fogbow
Ongoing violence along the border regions between the two nations — which separated when South Sudan achieved independence in 2011 — places the world’s youngest country in a vulnerable position merely seven years after a cease-fire in its own civil war.
The humanitarian sector has long struggled with the logistics of airdrops, which are expensive and complex to execute. They are regarded as a last resort for conflict areas that are inaccessible by land or sea.
A U.N. spokesperson in Sudan conveyed to ABC News that airdrops are “costly, intricate, and context-dependent.”
“While they
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
