US envoy urges South Sudan to allocate funds to refugees in Central Equatoria
The United States Ambassador in South Sudan, Michael Adler has urged the transitional government to allocate enough funds to cater for the humanitarian needs of about 10,000 Sudanese and Ethiopian refugees living in Gorom refugee settlement.
“Conditions at Gorom are one example of the urgent need for the transitional government to increase its financial contribution to humanitarian response in South Sudan,” Adler said in a statement issued in Juba on Friday.
He said the security situation in Sudan continues to displace people, adding it is urgent for the transitional government to take meaningful action to allocate funding to address the growing humanitarian crisis in South Sudan.
On October 25, 2023, Adler accompanied by personnel from the U.S. Embassy and from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration paid a visit to Gorom refugee settlement, situated 26 km away from Juba city in Central Equatoria State.
Adler was hosted by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Commission on Refugee Affairs.
Adler revealed that the U.S government’s assistance to returnees and refugees in South Sudan this year will exceed $100 million.
The Gorom refugee settlement was designed to host 2,500 Ethiopian refugees.
However, since the onset of conflict in Sudan in April 2023, the camp has expanded to accommodate over 7,000 Sudanese new arrivals
The number of people in need of humanitarian assistance in South Sudan stands at 7 million people, roughly above half of the country’s population.
