Papal initiative sends aid to South Sudan

June 21, 2017

The Vatican has announced a special initiative to send aid to the people of South Sudan.

At a June 21 press conference Cardinal Peter Turkson, the prefect of the dicastery for Integral Human Development, outlined the plans approved by Pope Francis to address the humanitarian disaster in South Sudan. Cardinal Turkson reported that in the war-torn African country, “more than half the population, around 7.3 million people, suffer from hunger on a daily basis.”

Pope Francis had planned to visit South Sudan this year, but the deteriorating security situation there made a papal trip impossible. Instead, Cardinal Turkson said, the Pope decided to sponsor a series of projects to help the country’s people:

• Two hospitals to be run by the Comboni Sisters, provided medical support for the dioceses of Wau and Tombora-Yambio;
• An agricultural program, administered by Caritas International and Caritas in South Sudan, providing equipment for farming in several dioceses and support for 2,500 families; and
• Two-year scholarships for the training of teachers in the Yambio diocese.

 

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Further information:

• Press Conference for the Presentation of the Initiative “The Pope for South Sudan” (Vatican press office)