Juba, Dec 6 : The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Friday issued an urgent appeal for $278.2 million to support children in South Sudan in 2025 amid an escalating humanitarian crisis.

UNICEF highlighted the worsening situation in South Sudan, where funding gaps have severely hampered the humanitarian response. "Approximately 9 million people, including 4.9 million children, 2.2 million women, and 1.4 million people with disabilities, will need humanitarian assistance," the UN agency said.

South Sudan is bracing for a challenging 2025, with deepening vulnerabilities, rising humanitarian needs, and significant reductions in aid budgets. The political landscape remains fragile following a two-year postponement of general elections initially scheduled for December, Xinhua news agency reported.

UNICEF noted that a convergence of crises, including extensive flooding linked to climate change, conflicts, disease outbreaks, economic deterioration, and an influx of refugees and returnees fleeing war in Sudan, has exacerbated the country's challenges.

From April 2023 to October 10, 2024, more than 826,000 people, including 415,000 children, entered South Sudan, fleeing war in Sudan, according to the UN. South Sudan now hosts more than 484,000 refugees, with an estimated 2 million people internally displaced largely due to floods, intercommunal conflicts, and food insecurity.

Children are particularly vulnerable in this crisis, facing heightened risks of abuse, violence, exploitation, and psychological distress, UNICEF said. "Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to the effects of ongoing conflicts, poverty, displacement and gender-based violence, including forced marriage."

/IANS