Egypt's first humanitarian aid tranche delivered to South Sudan

CAIRO - July 18, 2017: The Charge of Affairs of the Egyptian Embassy in Juba, Mahmoud Bayoumi, said in a statement that the embassy delivered the first tranche of the humanitarian food assistance carried via a humanitarian airlift to South Sudan, in cooperation with South Sudan's Ministry of Health.

The defense attaché to the embassy, Brigadier General Mohamed Salama, participated in the aid delivery ceremony on behalf of the government of South Sudan. The ceremony was also attended by South Sudanese Health Minister Dr. Riek Gai Kok, Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management Hon. Hussein mar Nyuot, State Minister of Health in Jubek and the head of the South Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission.

Bayoumi added that the embassy distributed aid in the form of food assistance and children’s powdered milk at Juba Teaching Hospital and Al-Sabah Children's Hospital, as well as Juba Central Prison. The distribution of the aid was largely welcomed by staff and patients in the two hospitals, in addition to the prison inmates, amid intensive media coverage.

He explained that this aid was provided under direct instructions from President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, as part of the airlift consisting of ten C-130 aircraft loaded with food assistance, medicine and children’s powdered milk.

A number of Egyptian agencies participated in the airlift, including the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Social Solidarity, the Egyptian Red Crescent, and the Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Egyptian diplomat added that such assistance reflects Egypt's commitment to helping South Sudan in all fields and is a perfect display of the close bilateral relations between the two countries and brotherly peoples.

For his part, the South Sudanese Minister of Health expressed gratitude to President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and the government of Egypt for providing aid in response to President Salva Kiir Mayardit's call for helping South Sudan to face famine, taking into account that Egypt has always supported South Sudan in all stages of its modern history. The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs also praised Egypt's continuous support for his country, especially in the field of education.