UNICEF delivers emergency aid to communities cut off by fighting in Jonglei, South Sudan

Fact: UNICEF and partners delivered lifesaving assistance to communities cut off by armed clashes in Jonglei state, South Sudan, the UN reported on 14 September 2026.

Source claim: Noala Skinner, UNICEF South Sudan Country Representative, said: "Access challenges in Jonglei state have left the lives of mothers and their children hanging in the balance."

Fact: Since January, UNICEF teams used the Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) to deliver more than eight tonnes of supplies to Wiechjol (Akobo County) and Waat (Nyirol County). Reported items included therapeutic food for children with acute malnutrition, water treatment and hygiene kits, and critical medical supplies.

Fact: Teams screened 1,666 children under five for acute malnutrition. Of those, 146 were admitted for lifesaving treatment and 602 were referred for follow‑up care for moderate acute malnutrition. Teams counselled 331 caregivers on infant and young child nutrition.

Source claim: UNICEF, citing SMART surveys, reported that global acute malnutrition rates in Akobo West exceed 40 per cent.

Fact: Health teams provided primary care to 1,241 patients — including 250 children under five — and treated malaria, acute respiratory infections, acute watery diarrhoea and skin diseases.

Fact: Water, sanitation and hygiene teams distributed water filters and purification supplies to 1,200 families, gave dignity and hygiene kits to 200 women and girls, and reached more than 2,000 people with hygiene‑promotion and disease‑prevention messages.

Source claim: UNICEF said closed health facilities, damaged water infrastructure and poor sanitation, together with ongoing displacement, increase risks of preventable childhood illness and protection threats such as family separation, gender‑based violence and child recruitment by armed groups. UNICEF also said many families had not seen assistance for months in these areas and that operating conditions remain challenging in northern Jonglei. Quotation: "For many families, this was the first help they had seen in months. But what we found shows how much more is needed, and how quickly conditions can deteriorate if access continues to be constrained in these areas," Ms. Skinner said in the report on 14 September 2026." ,

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