Help world’s poor as well as Ukraine, say faith charities as pope visits South Sudan

More than half the South Sudan population is at crisis-level of food insecurity. Here, Paska Itwari Beda shares a meal with a group of children, including five of her own, at her home in the capital, Juba. Photograph: Adrienne Surprenant/AP

The British government’s financial support for Ukraine must not be at the cost of aid to other areas of the world in crisis, three faith-based charities have warned, on the eve of an unprecedented joint pilgrimage to South Sudan led by Pope Francis.

The organisations are calling on the government to restore the 59% cut in the UK’s aid budget to South Sudan, and invest in peacebuilding, conflict management and reconciliation.