A new report compiled by the U.N.’s World Food Program, Food, and Agriculture Organization and UNICEF, and the government of South Sudan, claims almost seven million people in South Sudan, or more than 60 percent of its population, are facing severe hunger, reported Aljazeera.
“Every year, hunger reaches new and unprecedented levels in South Sudan with millions of people unsure where their next meal will come from, particularly at this time of the year when hunger peaks from May to July,” said Hsiao-Wei Lee of the World Food Program in Juba.
The UN agencies use a ranking system called the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), which rates hunger levels from one to five.
According to the food insecurity report released on Friday, an estimated 21,000 South Sudanese will likely face a “catastrophic lack of food access” by the end of July, in the middle of the rainy season.
As per the report, about 1.8 million people in South Sudan were in an emergency, or level four, which means large gaps between meals, acute malnutrition and excess deaths. In fact, people living in the worst-affected areas are experiencing famine-like conditions, with little or nothing to eat or to feed their families.
The deteriorating condition was attributed to food shortages due to delayed rainfall, economic crisis and years of strain from a conflict that killed around 400,000 people.
Under the IPC ranking system, level five, which is classified as “catastrophe,” applies when 20 percent of the population has deemed a famine. South Sudan declared a “man-made” famine in 2017. Although South Sudan does not currently meet the technical requirements of famine, the overall number of people requiring food aid has increased by about two million.
If the situation continues to prevail, about 21,000 people could slide into famine conditions, said Pierre Vauthier, deputy country director for the Food, and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
