The South Sudan government has announced that the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) has started full operations after donors resolved concerns raised by the organization last month.
The South Sudan Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management Hon. Joseph Lual said UNHAS will not stop operations.
“UNHAS is now working. We have a meeting with them (donors) and they have agreed that they will fund and they will try to contribute towards that,” Achuil said. “Some few people who were resisting have been convinced by other colleagues who are donors,” he added.
He said government and the donor partners held joint meetings in a move to address the issue.
“I can announce that I’m very happy that they have accepted to bring funds so that UNHAS starts work. There have been threats. They would have stopped last Monday. But because we have promised and contributed, they are still flying and they will never stop,” Achuil said.
The UNHAS had last month threatened to stop operations in South Sudan, stating they have not received funding.
Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in South Sudan had also expressed concern on the announcement as UNHAS is a UN common service managed by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the move threatens the commitment to address humanitarian situation in South Sudan.
UNHAS is the sole facilitator and provider of humanitarian flights to several parts of South Sudan in enhancing delivery of services. The NGO community in South Sudan relies on UNHAS services to support their activities which provide millions of South Sudanese with basic and emergency services.
Meanwhile, UNHAS announced that it requires US$3.5 million per month to operate, or $40 million until the end of 2013 to keep flights in the air. However, available funding can only sustain the air service up to the end of February.
UNHAS is a critical component of the relief operation in South Sudan, one of the most difficult environments in which to deliver humanitarian assistance. Many people live in hard-to-reach locations which are inaccessible by road, or too insecure to reach by ground travel. During the rainy season, up to 60 per cent of the country is inaccessible by road leaving air services as the only option to delivery aid.
Additionally, in 2012, UNHAS carried out 110 medical evacuations to people with life-threatening injuries. It also transported over 343 metric tonnes of life-saving aid including medicine and food. Over 230 relief organizations relied on the air service in 2012 to respond to emergencies, many of which simply would not have been able to reach communities in crisis without the service.
(Original by Gurtong. Additional report by TCT)
The South Sudan government has announced that the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) has started full operations after donors resolved concerns raised by the organization last month.
The South Sudan Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management Hon. Joseph Lual said UNHAS will not stop operations.
“UNHAS is now working. We have a meeting with them (donors) and they have agreed that they will fund and they will try to contribute towards that,” Achuil said. “Some few people who were resisting have been convinced by other colleagues who are donors,” he added.
He said government and the donor partners held joint meetings in a move to address the issue.
“I can announce that I’m very happy that they have accepted to bring funds so that UNHAS starts work. There have been threats. They would have stopped last Monday. But because we have promised and contributed, they are still flying and they will never stop,” Achuil said.
The UNHAS had last month threatened to stop operations in South Sudan, stating they have not received funding.
Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in South Sudan had also expressed concern on the announcement as UNHAS is a UN common service managed by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the move threatens the commitment to address humanitarian situation in South Sudan.
UNHAS is the sole facilitator and provider of humanitarian flights to several parts of South Sudan in enhancing delivery of services. The NGO community in South Sudan relies on UNHAS services to support their activities which provide millions of South Sudanese with basic and emergency services.
Meanwhile, UNHAS announced that it requires US$3.5 million per month to operate, or $40 million until the end of 2013 to keep flights in the air. However, available funding can only sustain the air service up to the end of February.
UNHAS is a critical component of the relief operation in South Sudan, one of the most difficult environments in which to deliver humanitarian assistance. Many people live in hard-to-reach locations which are inaccessible by road, or too insecure to reach by ground travel. During the rainy season, up to 60 per cent of the country is inaccessible by road leaving air services as the only option to delivery aid.
Additionally, in 2012, UNHAS carried out 110 medical evacuations to people with life-threatening injuries. It also transported over 343 metric tonnes of life-saving aid including medicine and food. Over 230 relief organizations relied on the air service in 2012 to respond to emergencies, many of which simply would not have been able to reach communities in crisis without the service.
(Original by Gurtong. Additional report by TCT)