As Pope Francis’s visit to South Sudan is imminent and the nation is in urgent need of humanitarian assistance due to hunger, starvation & natural calamities the country continues undergoing terrible ethnic violence that is victimizing vulnerable children and women.
By Majok Deng
During the first week of January – February of 2023 Pope Francis shall pay a courtesy visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as the Republic of South Sudan.
The Pop’s visit was postponed from the summer of 2022 due to Rome’s highest figure health complications that were not revealed by any news outlets however heavenly man must be appreciated for he had healed the Pope as Juba masses anxiously await his next year’s visit.
Historically Pope Francis will be the first head of the Catholic Church to step foot on South Sudan’s soil principally because the nation only gained her independence two years before his succession to see of Peter.
Hereditary of Good Samaritan State of Affairs
The Republic of South Sudan the world’s youngest country and African 55th nation on 9 July 2022. However, numerous war outbreaks made it difficult for the country to achieve positive economic growth & economic development as poverty is omnipresent and is exacerbated by conflict and displacement that has caused a lack of humanitarian accessibility to war-affected areas
Pope Francis on Sunday prayed for the suffering nation as he addressed the crowd gathered in St Peter’s Square for his weekly Sunday Angelus. “Let us pray to the Lord for peace and national reconciliation that the attacks will cease and that civilians will always be respected.”
Latest Crisis Development.
The Bishop of Rome’s reconsideration came just three days after the United Nations warned that more than 9,000 people have fled the most recent violence in South Sudan’s Upper Nile state. In its harrowing report, the United Nations added that some were forced to hide in swamps and bushes during attacks.
The bloodshed in the region has killed an unknown number of people while rape, murder, and kidnapping of civilians are on the rise as the conflict intensifies.
Unfavorable Climate
Of late, the country is held by dubious climate disasters. From high temperatures to increasingly severe drought and flood events, which affect lives and livelihoods, the country is extremely vulnerable to climate change impacts. Such impacts worsen the already existing widespread food insecurity, conflicts, and macroeconomic crisis.
The humanitarian crisis is serious. Some two-thirds of South Sudan’s total population of 11.4 million (2021) is estimated to be in need of humanitarian assistance in 2022. Women and children continue to be the most affected.
The Pope’s visit to the nation comes as a sign of hope. One of the highlights of the trip will in fact, be a meeting with internally displaced persons and an Ecumenical Prayer service as a sign of unity nationwide.