Pope Francis called on Wednesday for urgent humanitarian aid for the starving people of South Sudan, saying millions risked being "condemned to death" by a famine in parts of the war-ravaged country.
"Now more than ever there should be a commitment by everyone to not just talk but contribute food aid and allow it to reach suffering populations," he told tens of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square for his weekly audience.
He said millions of people, including many children, were being "condemned to death by hunger".
Since 2013 South Sudan has been mired in civil war, which the pope called "fratricidal". President Salva Kiir, whose government declared a famine on Monday, has promised aid agencies safe access to hunger-stricken civilians
The United Nations says it has been unable to reach some of the worst hit areas because of the insecurity.
South Sudan has been hit by the same east African drought that has pushed Somalia back to the brink of famine, six years after 260,000 people starved to death in 2011.
The UN children's agency Unicef
on Tuesday said nearly 1.4 million children were at "imminent" risk of death in
famines
in South Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and Nigeria.
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Britain will provide additional aid money to
South
Sudan,
the government said on Wednesday.
Britain will provide 100 million pounds ($125 million) to each country in 2017/18 in addition to existing flows of aid.
"The world faces a series of unprecedented humanitarian crises and the real threat of famine in four countries," International Development Secretary Priti Patel said in a statement.
"These crises are being driven by conflict and drought and we must respond accordingly," said Patel.
The statement said Britain's new support would help bring food assistance to over 500,000 people in
South
Sudan
and up to 1 million in Somalia.