Airbus Defence and Space in Stevenage is doing its bit to help those caught up in conflicts in South Sudan.

The firm based in Gunnels Wood Road is linked to the Airbus Foundation charity which has just dispatched 17 tonnes of relief equipment, water and sanitation equipment from East Midlands Airport.

The Foundation used an Airbus A330 test aircraft to transport the supplies to Entebbe in Uganda where they are destined to assist the increasing number of refugees escaping the deteriorating conflict situation in South Sudan.

The humanitarian mission was organized jointly between the Airbus Foundation, the

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies as well as the

British and Uganda Red Cross Societies.

The humanitarian cargo included a Mass Sanitation Emergency Response Unit provided by the British Red Cross. The unit will allow the Red Cross to provide sanitation to thousands of people living in a recently established refugee camp on the Uganda–South Sudan border.

The South Sudanese refugee population in Uganda has more than tripled in six months to

almost 720,000, according to the UN Refugee Agency. Since December 2013, more than

1.5 million people have left South Sudan seeking safety in neighbouring countries.