In July, we lost enough food in the Marial-Lou warehouse to serve about 8,000 people for three months – Mrs. Badejo

The UN food agency in South Sudan lost about 230 tonnes of food last month when its warehouse in the Marial-Lou region was stolen.

The food was stored in Tonj in Warrap State in anticipation of food shortages during the rainy season.

However, in July, intercommunal confrontations resulted in the theft of food supplies sufficient to sustain about 8,000 people for three months.

The World Food Program’s Deputy Country Director characterized the event in Marial-Lou as a “unfortunate” occurrence.

“Schools, hospitals, and our warehouse were all attacked. We lost about 230 tonnes of food, which was intended to feed approximately 8,000 people for three months,” Mrs. Adeyinnka Badejo said.

“During the rainy season, there is no road access to Marial-Lou. It is no longer available. That is why the food was placed there in order to sustain the population.”

According to the WFP’s Deputy Country Director, the organization is organizing assistance to help people displaced from Marial-Lou.

“We have conducted an evaluation and are currently deploying to help them. Replacing that stock is a challenge since we are already experiencing a financial gap”.

“Therefore, we will help them for one month and aim to assist them for the following two to three months. Mrs. Badejo said, “Our help is scheduled to coincide with the lean season.”

On Thursday, the WFP’s Deputy Country Director addressed a news conference after the signing of a 3.2 million dollar contribution from the Japanese government.

The Charge d’Affaires of the Japanese Embassy in Juba, for his part, emphasized the need of protecting humanitarian workers in the nation.

“Violence against humanitarian workers is intolerable, and we think it should be handled immediately,” Mitsuhiro Tomaya said.

“We hope that all aid workers, including WFP employees, are adequately safeguarded and that their humanitarian assistance is provided securely and efficiently to the South Sudanese people.”

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, there have been over 400 violent attacks against humanitarian workers since the start of 2020.