Statement attributed to Ms. Gwi-Yeop Son, United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, on humanitarian access in South Kordofan

The Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Gwi-Yeop Son, would like to commend the Government of Sudan, Government of South Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) on their extraordinary cooperation to facilitate the visit of David Beasley, the Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), to Kauda in the Nuba mountains in South Kordofan. This is the first United Nations humanitarian mission to the area in over eight years.

Ms. Son urges the parties to continue working in a spirit of cooperation to enable unfettered humanitarian access to the affected areas of South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

Ms. Son encourages the Sudanese government and other parties to facilitate unhindered, principled and timely humanitarian access across Sudan including to civilians in conflict-affected areas.

The Humanitarian Coordinator is thankful for the generosity of donors who have contributed US$561.5 million to the Humanitarian Response Plan of $1.1 billion. The United Nations and humanitarian partners provided some form of assistance to 4.3 million people in Sudan.