JUBA, July 28 (Xinhua) -- The South Sudan Humanitarian Fund (SSHF) has allocated 28.1 million U.S. dollars to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance and protection in 24 priority locations, the UN relief agency said on Friday.
The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the second standard allocation round will fund 90 top priority projects to be implemented by national and international non-governmental organizations (NGO) and UN agencies.
"This round brings the total funding allocated in 2017 to 50.6 million dollars," OCHA said in its latest humanitarian report.
The SSHF enables targeting of funds to the most critical needs, and improves efficiency and timely response to emergencies in South Sudan.
Around 5.5 million people in South Sudan, or almost half the population, face severe hunger ahead of the lean season, which peaks in July.
Of these, more than 90,000 face starvation with famine declared in parts of former Unity state while another one million teeter on the brink.
The UN stresses that this unprecedented situation reflects the impact of ongoing strife, obstacles to delivering humanitarian assistance and declining agricultural production.
This round of funding prioritizes health (16 per cent), protection (14.2 per cent) and water, sanitation and hygiene (14.2 per cent), emergency shelter and non-food items (12.5 per cent), food security and livelihoods (10.7 per cent), and nutrition (10.7 per cent).
SSHF also provides funding to common logistics services (10.7 per cent) to support the transportation of aid workers and supplies to hard-to-reach areas during the current rainy season.
Some 30 percent of the 28 million dollars was allocated to national NGOs. Guided by the principles of proportionality and acuteness, the SSHF also promotes the efficiency of the humanitarian response. Enditem
