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People in displaced persons camp in Juba, South Sudan

South Sudan’s appeal, which takes into account projects from 114 humanitarian organisations, including international and national NGOs and UN agencies, will respond to the life-threatening needs of 5.1 million people across the country.

“This appeal must be fully funded,” urged Eugene Owusu, UN humanitarian coordinator for South Sudan.

“It presents the bare minimum required to respond to the most urgent needs, and these needs cannot go unanswered. The challenge we face is unprecedented but we must not give up.”

One in every five people in South Sudan have been forced to flee their homes since conflict began in 2013. Towards the end of last year, as many as 3.9 million people in the country were food insecure, and in some areas worst affected by the violence up to 30,000 people faced a real risk of famine.

“Humanitarian needs cannot wait,” said Owusu. “We are in a race against time to ensure that the most desperate and vulnerable across South Sudan are reached before it is too late. We must act now and need the international community’s support to do so.”

The humanitarian community in Somalia also launched an appeal today, calling on the international community to provide predictable and timely funding.

The plan for 2016 – worth $885m – hopes to reach 3.5 million people with life-saving assistance by the end of this year.

The OCHA said the appeal comes against a backdrop of acute humanitarian needs in Somalia, with an estimated 4.9 million people requiring aid.

Over 1.1 million people in the country are internally displaced, an estimated 308,000 children under the age of five are acutely malnourished and over 50,000 could die if not treated.

The country also suffers from poor access to primary healthcare, has a high maternal mortality rate, poor access to clean water and to education for children.

Somalia is further burdened by refugees and returnees who are fleeing violence in Yemen, exacerbating humanitarian needs, as well as the El Niño weather pattern which has intensified extensive flooding and drought.

Peter de Clercq, the humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, said the humanitarian response plan for 2016 aims to bring down levels of critical vulnerabilities and reduce the risk of people sliding further into crisis.

This includes bringing down the number of people requiring food assistance from 4.9 to 3.2 million and reducing malnutrition and deaths by preventable diseases.

The 2016 plan is also part of a three-year strategy that works to build resilience, forge sustainable livelihoods and services and find durable, longer-term solutions that address underlying causes of vulnerability.