JUBA – The Japanese government on Wednesday donated about 500 million Japanese Yen equivalent to 3.2 million United State dollars to the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) to help bolster food and nutrition security in South Sudan.
The aid will enable the WFP to provide food assistance to estimated 14,000 individuals, including crisis-affected communities, refugees, and returnees over the next six months.
The contribution will also fund daily school meals for over 42,000 students, ensuring they have access to at least one nutritious meal per day and enhanced higher school enrollment, attendance, and retention rates.
Speaking during handover ceremony in Juba on Wednesday, Oyama Hiromoto, Japanese Embassy Chargés d’Affaires in South Sudan said the aid is response to the famine in the country
“This assistance is grounded in Japan’s Development Cooperation Charter. It emphasizes human security, peacebuilding and resilience, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected settings. It is also aligned with the TICAD (Tokyo International Conference on African Development) process,” Oyama said.
For her part, Mary-Ellen McGroarty, WFP Country Director in South Sudan, the funds would allow WFP to offer life-saving food aid to the most helpless communities and meals for school- children.
“In South Sudan, the needs are immense and continue to outpace the resources available. This generous contribution from the Government of Japan comes at a critical moment, as humanitarian needs continue to be persistently high,” McGroarty said.
She said the school will help to keep the kids in school and help them to build hope for a brighter future.
“It will allow us to deliver lifesaving food assistance to the most vulnerable communities, while school meals will continue to offer children a vital lifeline—keeping them in school and helping to build hope for a brighter future,” she said.
Japan is a long-standing and dependable partner of WFP in South Sudan and around the world, constantly supporting efforts to save lives and address urgent food needs.
The contribution comes at a critical time, as 7.7 million people in South Sudan are experiencing extreme food insecurity, and 2.3 million children are at risk of malnutrition.
The country continues to face compounding humanitarian challenges, including conflict, repeated flooding, economic instability, and the spillover effects of the ongoing crisis in neighboring Sudan.
