The French government has donated 1.3 million US dollars to the World Food Program to provide nutritional support to over 20,000 children in South Sudan.
The donation was revealed only one month after the UN agency halted food aid to over 2 million South Sudanese.
In June, the organization said that it had tried all alternatives, including halving food rations, before stopping food assistance to refugees and displaced people in the nation.
WFP, on the other hand, welcomed the cash gift in a news release on Wednesday, saying it will make a difference.
“WFP welcomes a USD$1.29 million contribution from France to provide nutrition assistance to thousands of people in South Sudan, where more than 7.74 million people are increasingly hungry as a result of years of conflict, the impact of climate shocks such as flooding, and economic crisis,” the statement reads.
The money will be used to offer specialist nutrition support for the treatment and prevention of malnutrition in 24,222 children aged 6-23 months, according to the organization.
A portion of it will go toward the welfare of pregnant women and nursing moms, as well as 25,000 individuals who will get nutrition best practices training and awareness programs.
According to the most recent Integrated Food Security Phase Classification report, the number of food-insecure persons in South Sudan has climbed from 7.2 million in 2021 to 7 point 74 million in 2022.
According to the UN, one-point-34 million children under the age of five would suffer from acute malnutrition, with Jonglei, Upper Nile, Unity, and Western Bahr el Ghazal being the worst impacted states.
France gave 1.2 million US dollars to the UN organization that provides food aid to South Sudan last year.
