Despite ebb in famine, conflict fuelling rise in hunger in South Sudan

Although famine has eased in South Sudan, the number of people struggling to find food is still going up, UN agencies and their partners warned on Wednesday. More than six million people are now facing hunger, largely due to conflict, up from 4.9 million in February, representing the highest level of food insecurity that the country has ever experienced. Serge Tissot is the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) representative in South Sudan. Speaking on the line from the capital, Juba, he told Sandra Ferrari what lay behind the surge in numbers.

Uganda hosts “solidarity summit” amid fast-growing refugee emergency

Uganda has been hosting a “solidarity summit” this week, with the support of the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, amid a fast-growing refugee crisis in the country. A mass exodus from South Sudan has roughly doubled the refugee population in the East African nation to over 1.2 million. Jocelyne Sambira has been in Uganda on special assignment for UN News, and visited one of the refugee camps which is filling up fast.

People of CAR “have no alternative” to UN if they want lasting peace

The war-weary people of the Central African Republic (CAR) have “no alternative” but to rely on the UN and the international community to help forge a lasting peace. That’s the firm belief of the head of the UN Mission in the CAR (MINUSCA), Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, who said that without their support on the ground “another massacre” or even genocide could have taken place. Violent clashes between Muslim and Christian armed groups in 2013 plunged the CAR into civil conflict, and despite successful elections last year, there has been a rise in attacks against civilians and UN peacekeepers in recent months. Mr Onanga-Anyanga briefed the UN Security Council earlier this month and said MINUSCA’s resolve to protect and serve the people of CAR was stronger than ever. He told Cristina Silveiro that the upsurge in violence by armed groups was a sign of chronic political instability.

Presenter: Matthew Wells

Production Assistant: Sandra Guy

Duration: 10'00″