20 July 2017 – Amid the worst drought in nearly two decades in the Democratic Republic of Korea (DPRK), the United Nations agricultural agency is calling for emergency food assistance, as well as irrigation and farming equipment, to help farmers get through the lean season.

&#8220DPR Korea’s crop production for 2017, including staple rice, maize, potatoes and soybean, has been severely damaged by prolonged dry weather conditions, threatening food security for a large part of its population,&#8221 according to a new report by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).

Rainfall from April to June in key crop producing areas is &#8220well below the long-term average,&#8221 severely disrupting planting activities and damaging the 2017 main season crops.

The rainfall is below the level in 2001, when cereal production dropped to an &#8220unprecedented&#8221 two million tonnes. The lack of food caused a large part of the population to go hungry, the UN agency reported.

“Immediate interventions are needed to support affected farmers and prevent undesirable coping strategies for the most vulnerable, such as reducing daily food intakes,&#8221 said Vincent Martin, FAO Representative in China and DPRK.

He said it was &#8220critical&#8221 that farmers receive appropriate and timely agricultural assistance, including irrigation equipment and machinery.

Increased food imports, commercial or through food aid, would be required during the next three months at the peak of the lean season, to make sure there is adequate food supply for the most vulnerable, including children and the elderly.

20 July 2017 – The United Nations health agency is scaling up cholera response in South Sudan, where 17,785 cases, including 320 deaths, have been reported since the outbreak in June 2106.

&#8220Cholera is endemic in South Sudan and historically, outbreaks have occurred along major commercial routes and rivers in the dry season as well as during the rainy season,&#8221 said Joseph Wamala, an epidemiologist at the World Health Organization (WHO), in a news release from the agency’s Africa office.

Earlier this week, WHO received 500,000 doses of oral cholera vaccine and is working with South Sudan’s Ministry of Health and partners to carry out a vaccination campaign from 28 July to 3 August in four selected counties &#8211 Tonj East, Kapoeta South, Kapoeta North and Kapoeta East.

&#8220South Sudan has suffered from several major cholera outbreaks in the last four years. Following other successful oral cholera vaccine campaigns, WHO and partners can make a real difference in controlling the outbreak in Tonj and Kapoeta states and in other parts of the country,&#8221 Mr. Wamala said.

Along with the use of the vaccine, South Sudan is implementing the integrated approach to control cholera, such as improving access to patient care, surveillance, social mobilization, water, sanitation and hygiene.

As a result, cholera transmission in Bor, Mingkaman, Duk, Ayod, Bentiu, Leer, Aburoc, Malakal Town, and several other areas has been controlled.

Food insecurity is putting people at increased risk of starvation and malnutrition, which in turn will further the risk that cholera outbreak in South Sudan will spread.

Drought has also led to the drying of water points in some regions leading to the population using contaminated water from the remaining few unprotected points leading to repeated outbreaks of cholera and other water-borne diseases.