UN chief warns of famine risk in South Sudan

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on the International Community to take an immediate action to address the risk of famine of about one million people in South Sudan. Ban told reporters before meeting with the European Union’s commissioner responsible for humanitarian aid Kristalina Georgieva that up to a million people could face famine in a matter of months. There are “high levels of malnutrition among hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the conflict, especially women and children,” Ban stressed. “We need an end to the fighting and a political solution to a conflict which has already taken a heavy toll on civilians; we need the resources to continue providing life-saving assistance and livelihood support; and all parties to the conflict must respect the rights of the people of South Sudan and abide by international humanitarian law,” he said. Source: QNA