Norway pledges more financial aid to South Sudan

Oslo, May 20 (IANS) Norway has decided to give 372 million Norwegian kroner (about $63 million) as emergency aid to South Sudan, a media report said Monday.

Expressing his concern over the worsening humanitarian situation in South Sudan, Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende said that there is a real danger of famine and the international community needs to act quickly to prevent the situation from deteriorating further, Xinhua reported.

The humanitarian crisis in South Sudan can deteriorate significantly in the months to come, Brende said.

The UN has said that the need for humanitarian assistance amounts to 10.7 billion kroner, of which only one-third is in place.

"It is against this background that we gather the main humanitarian actors in Oslo to agree on joint measures to provide better help to people affected," said the Norwegian minister.

Norway is hosting an international donor conference for Sudan Monday and Tuesday.

Five million people in South Sudan are in acute need of humanitarian assistance, according to statement issued by the Norwegian Foreign Ministry.

Since last December, when armed conflict broke out in the African country, over 1.3 million people have been forced to flee and a great many have lost their homes and their livelihoods.

The Norwegian contribution will be channelled through humanitarian actors on the ground in South Sudan, including UN agencies, NGOs and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

In addition, some of the funds will be allocated for relief efforts in South Sudan's neighbouring countries that are receiving a large number of refugees.