Head of Alaska nonprofit that operates in South Sudan worries children will die without U.S. aid dollars

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - The head of an Alaska-based nonprofit that does development work in South Sudan says he’s worried there may be devastating consequences as the federal government shuts down USAID programs around the world, particularly in South Sudan.

Dr. Jack Hickel is the board president for the Alaska Health Project South Sudan, an organization that helps provide fresh drinking water and food security to one of the most impoverished countries in the world.

“Even today, it hasn’t changed much,” Hickel said. “There’s no roads, there’s no electricity, no sanitation, no running water.”

Hickel said improvement has come in the form of fresh drinking water, the organization has helped to drill over 107 wells in the region as well as assisting with food security. He estimates Alaska Health Project South Sudan has helped 100,000 people in the region since its founding in 2008.

Hickel said funding for the organization comes almost exclusively from Alaskans, but the nonprofit does rely on partner organizations to some extent that are funded by USAID dollars.

The Trump administration is working to dismantle the agency as part of a large cost-cutting measure to slash the size of the U.S. government. According to the Associated Press, more than 1,600 U.S.-based staffers have been notified they are now out of a job.

Hickel said lack of funding will impact how many wells they can drill, but he is more concerned about how it will impact a region in the northern part of South Sudan.

“The need there has dramatically increased,” he said. “Because of the war in Sudan — our northern neighbor — over a million refugees have come from that war back into South Sudan and so there are just huge needs that we need to address.”

According to Hickel, funding that comes primarily from the U.S. has been cut to purchase things like food and medicine. He said the result will be catastrophic, including famine and death.

“All the vaccines that we give kids — that save lives, that save kids — those vaccines are going to stop,” he warned.

Hickel is asking Alaskans to reach out to elected officials and ask that they work to restore funding for the USAID program.

“Getting the world aware of the situation, of what’s happening with USAID, is crucial to getting those funds going again,” he said.

The Alaska Health Project South Sudan is also looking for donations to expand its work in the region, he said, in efforts to reach more people who are suffering.

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