Caritas ‘SOS’ for South Sudan

Caritas ‘SOS’ for South Sudan Photo: CNS

A Caritas director in one Catholic diocese in South Sudan has warned that “the humanitarian situation…is getting to a catastrophic stage”.

Writing after the official announcement of famine in the country, William Okot de Toby, who oversees the work of the Church’s development agency in the Diocese of Torit in the far south-east, said: “Hunger is the order of the day and the worst is expected.”

Blaming a combination of drought and the ongoing conflict for extreme food shortages, Mr de Toby said the numbers of malnourished children in the diocese is increasing every day.

“The current situation is worse than compared to the past,” he added. “Both the fighting and lack of food are having a deep impact. At least in the past people had coping mechanisms but this time there is nothing. Many have left to take refuge in the neighbouring countries but the situation in the camps has forced some of them to come back with a feeling that it is better to die at home than in a foreign land.