In pictures: Delivering aid to South Sudan

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An ICRC aircraft lands at Udier, in Upper Nile state, South Sudan
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An ICRC plane lands at Udier in South Sudan bringing much-needed food to the area. The International Committee of the Red Cross warned in May that urgent action needs to be taken to save hundreds of thousands of people in the country from starvation.
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This businessman is selling soap, matches and torches, some of the few items available in the town. But there is little or no real food for sale.
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Wuna and her friend have walked for five days to Udier because they heard some food is available here. July and August bring the traditional “hunger gap,” when food from last year’s harvest has run out, but next year’s harvest hasn’t yet come in. The recent conflict has only worsened the impact, disrupting planting seasons.
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The ICRC delivers sorghum, beans, children’s cereal, cooking oil, sugar and salt to 4,500 families. People reach through a fence in the hope that the official will pick them to go and collect their food supplies.
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Bothe Wuna, a 63-year-old chief, came from a distant village with several hundred women and children. “We thought Udier was a good place because there was a food distribution here. Before the crisis I was a huge man. But now I have nothing to eat except the roots of trees,” he said.
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Many of the children in Udier wear football shirts from nearby Ethiopia. Local entrepreneurs make the 12-day round trip on foot to buy clothes for resale.
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Men and women carry bags to their homes eager to begin preparing food.
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Udier resident Gatluak Lual uses a stone to grind the grains she has received from the distribution. Despite having little, it is common practice for the village to share whatever food there is with people arriving, fleeing the violence.
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One of Udier’s many young girls glances back as she and her family carry home cooking oil and sorghum.
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For the children of Udier, school has been closed since the outbreak of the most recent fighting and there is little to do. But still the children smile for the photographer. All photographs by Jason Straziuso/ICRC.