Statement by Toby Lanzer, Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan

JUBA, South Sudan, May 10, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- "Given the enormous, immediate and medium-term humanitarian consequences of the past five months of fighting, I am pleased to note the parties' agreement in Addis Ababa. An end to the violence will allow people some breathing space, to move around more safely and to plant and take better care of themselves in the coming months.

The parties' commitment to end conflict and to cooperate, unconditionally, with the UN and humanitarian agencies to ensure that aid reaches millions of affected people in all areas of South Sudan is very welcome.

It is vital now to have full access, including to transport emergency relief to people in need by road and via the waterways by barge. Aid agencies such as the World Food Programme stand ready in Juba to load barges with life-saving aid and transport it to key destinations such as Bentiu and Malakal. We are also ready to use key corridors such as those from Juba to Rumbek and on to Wau, as well as from Ethiopia and Sudan.

NGOs and UN agencies continue to scale up operations to meet the needs of food insecure communities, people displaced by the conflict, and refugees cut off from assistance. Aid agencies are committed to delivering in the most focused, cost-effective and efficient way so that more aid can reach more people in need.

In the run-up to the high-level pledging conference in Oslo on 20 May I call on donors to commit financial resources to help people in South Sudan survive the conflict and to help themselves. A lasting peace must be forged soon to enable people to resume their livelihoods and rebuild their communities"