Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes called for international support for Southern Sudan to prevent "a crisis from turning into a real disaster" during a five-day trip to Sudan that ended on 30 May.

At a Khartoum press conference that concluded his last visit to the country in his present role, Mr. Holmes said that about 1.5 million people were expected to face varying degrees of food insecurity across Sudan's ten southern states during the current year.

In addition to crop shortages, other factors like limited pasture land, disappointing levels of rainfall and the displacement of an estimated 90,000 people have further exacerbated the looming humanitarian crisis, Mr. Holmes added.

His trip included visits to the cities of Wau, Juba and Nyala where he met with Sudanese government and UN officials as well as representatives of non-governmental organizations. "If humanitarian needs are allowed to spiral further, stability could be jeopardized at a critical time," warned Mr. Holmes after reviewing projects in the Western Bahr El Ghazal State capital of Wau.

"We agreed on the need to step up the response, and the Government (of Southern Sudan) will be contributing a further $35 million for food security," he said after meeting with Government of Southern Sudan Vice-President Riek Machar in the regional capital of Juba.

During his stay in Wau, the UN humanitarian chief also met with Kwajok County Commissioner Deng Ayeng, who cited limited access to clean water as another challenge facing residents of Southern Sudan.

Mr. Ayeng also called for international support for ongoing civilian disarmament campaigns in various parts of the region. The recently elected governor of Warrap State, Nyandeng Malek Deliech, also participated in the meetings with Mr. Holmes, and she proposed the establishment of police stations and schools along the country's north-south border to "harmonize the communities" in the vicinity of that disputed frontier and reduce conflicts between states located on either side of the border.