Humanitarian organizations in South Sudan are being hit left and right with insecurity and a bill that threatens their work in the country.
Early this week, U.N. agencies and nongovernmental organizations announced they were evacuating staff members from the southern part of Unity State in South Sudan, putting all aid operations on hold.
The move was a precautionary measure aimed at ensuring the safety of aid workers amid renewed violence in the region, given that town such as Koch and Leer had been the center of hostilities in the past. In Leer last year, for instance, international medical group Médecins Sans Frontières lost contact with a large number of national staff, who with their patients fled to the bush to escape fighting in the area.
About the author
Jenny Lei Ravelo@JennyLeiRavelo
Jenny Lei Ravelo is a Devex Senior Reporter based in Manila. She covers global health, with a particular focus on the World Health Organization, and other development and humanitarian aid trends in Asia Pacific. Prior to Devex, she wrote for ABS-CBN, one of the largest broadcasting networks in the Philippines, and was a copy editor for various international scientific journals. She received her journalism degree from the University of Santo Tomas.
