Provision of Humanitarian Air Services in the Republic of South Sudan

This operation has been modified as per budget revision 1 (see below)

This Special Operation (SO) is designed to continue the provision of access to the humanitarian community by air to locations within the Republic of South Sudan through a safe, reliable, effective, and efficient service during 2015.

This new SO 200786 is a continuation of SO 200634, which was implemented between 1 January and 31 December 2014, and adapts to the humanitarian context and latest operational objectives.

The WFP South Sudan Country Office will manage SO 200786, through its United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), in consultation with the Steering Committee (SC) and the User Group Committee (UGC). Through its flights, UNHAS will continue to provide the needed access for the humanitarian community to connect to main towns and to reach remote and isolated programme implementation sites through a demand-driven, customer-oriented service.

With the surge in humanitarian activities in the country, it is estimated that more than 250 organizations including United Nations (UN) agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and donor/diplomatic representatives as well as other missions contributing to the humanitarian effort will be dependent on UNHAS to access hard-to-reach locations in South Sudan.

Fleet composition and operational routes have been determined after needs assessments and consultations with relevant stakeholders. The operation will be implemented using a fleet of 15 aircraft based strategically in Juba, Rumbek, and Bor to ensure regular and reliable service to 48 destinations. Additional destinations, such as Malakal, will be opened as aircraft bases to facilitate movements to remote locations in Upper Nile and Unity states.

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Budget revision 1 to SO 200786 seeks to extend the project in time for 12 months to ensure continued provision of air transport services to the humanitarian community until 31 December 2016, with a subsequent budget increase of US$58,589,689.