WE’RE about to witness a historic event. On July 9, Africa’s newest country, the Republic of South Sudan, will be born.

It is an extraordinary moment for the people of South Sudan who, after years of conflict, have secured the right to form a country of their own.

What’s painful to witness, however, is that these people so full of hope are living in one of the poorest countries in the world.

They are facing huge instability as thousands of people return to their homeland – many living in temporary camps without electricity or adequate water and sanitation.

For them the challenges ahead are numerous and for a country where a 15-year-old girl has a higher chance of dying in childbirth than completing primary education, action is needed quickly.

World Vision, a charity I support, is calling on the UK government to make the new country of South Sudan a priority and to show its support by giving the people in this troubled region the assistance they need to create a stable and peaceful new country.

Here in the UK we sometimes take our local services in health and education for granted and I would encourage people to support this campaign by going online to worldvision.org.uk/sudan and adding their voice.

JOHN NEWBOLD, Dunkeld Road, Bournemouth