Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), informed reporters in Geneva that among the 71 recorded aid worker deaths this year, 22 occurred in South Sudan and 19 in Sudan.
Most victims are local humanitarian workers operating on the front lines of assistance efforts. Emphasizing that attacks on aid workers and facilities violate international humanitarian law, Laerke underscored the importance of holding perpetrators accountable.
“Parties to conflict have an obligation to respect the laws of war without exceptions,” he stated.
Mr. Laerke underscored the severe humanitarian needs in both countries and the existing funding shortfalls. The humanitarian response plan for Sudan is only 32 percent funded, while the response in South Sudan has received 53 percent of the required funds.
The World Health Organization (WHO) also raised concerns about the situation in South Sudan, where three out of four people require humanitarian assistance, and two out of every three are experiencing crisis levels of hunger.