Hunger in South Sudan’s northeast has reached a critical tipping point, with nearly 7.7 million people facing severe food insecurity as conflict escalates, the UN’s emergency food relief agency warned on Wednesday.
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The situation is especially dire for returnees fleeing violence in Sudan, who now account for nearly half of those experiencing catastrophic hunger levels.
The influx of over 1.1 million displaced people into already fragile communities has overwhelmed resources and relief efforts, according to the UN World Food Programme (WFP).
With the pre-harvest lean season underway, conditions are expected to deteriorate further. WFP is calling on donors to step up support to avert a deepening humanitarian catastrophe.
“This is among the worst levels of food insecurity that we have ever seen in the country since the independence,” Mary-Ellen McGroarty, WFP Country Director in South Sudan, told journalists in New York via video link from the country.
“We are witnessing the devastating impact of the conflict in driving hunger. Communities have fled with just the clothes on their backs, and already meager livelihoods and seasonal coping strategies are abandoned.”
Years of volatility
South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011, but the world’s youngest nation has been plagued by conflict and instability ever since.
A civil war erupted in 2013 between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and those aligned with his former deputy, Riek Machar. The war – marked by ethnic violence, mass atrocities and widespread humanitarian crisis – lasted until a fragile peace deal was signed in 2018.
There are fears of a relapse into the civil war following skyrocketing tensions between the South Sudanese leaders, including the reported house arrest of Mr. Machar at the end of last month.
Conflict and disease
The crisis extends beyond hunger with a cholera outbreak now underway in volatile Upper Nile state. In response, WFP has airlifted 35 metric tons of aid to affected areas, with additional stock awaiting transport once security conditions allow.
The agency also aims to deliver food assistance to more than 450,000 people in the region, focusing on those facing emergency (IPC4) and catastrophic levels (ICP5) of hunger, tracked by the UN-supported food security classification system known as the IPC.
However, active conflict is hampering aid efforts and food distributions have been paused in six counties due to active fighting and insecurity.
“[We and our] partners have the food ready to deliver and distribute once conditions allow,” it said.
Women at the crossroads
As conflict spreads and hunger deepens, women and girls are bearing the brunt of the crisis. Many have been forced to flee insecurity multiple times.
Recurrent, relentless climate shocks are also taking a particularly heavy toll, leaving them at risk of being coerced into sex work, trafficked or sexually assaulted as they venture far and often alone in search of food, water and work.
To respond to growing needs, UN agencies – such as reproductive health agency, UNFPA – are operating safe spaces to provide not only shelter but also counselling, skills training and vital information on gender-based violence prevention.
Funding cuts have meant at least two safe spaces are set to close by May, leaving thousands of women and girls without access to support.
“In the face of this crisis, every dollar matters, every intervention counts, and every life saved is a step toward peace,” said UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem.
UNFPA urgently needs $8.8 million to sustain lifesaving services but has received just a fraction of that amount.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN News.
