A United Nations (UN) report published on Thursday warns that almost eight million people in South Sudan, or two-thirds of the troubled country’s population, are at risk of hunger, reported The UN News.
In their latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the World Food Programme (WFP) said that roughly two-thirds of the population, more than 7.7 million people, will not have enough to eat during the lean season next April through July, while 1.4 million children will be malnourished.
The UN agencies said the decline in food security and high malnutrition rate is linked to a combination of conflict, extreme climate events, poor macroeconomic conditions, and spiralling costs of food and fuel.
As per the report, the fraction of people facing high levels of food insecurity and malnourishment is at the highest level ever, surpassing levels recorded during the 2013 and 2016 conflicts.
“We’ve been in famine prevention mode all year and have staved off the worst outcomes, but this is not enough,” Makena Walker, acting country director for WFP in South Sudan, said in a statement.
Walker said that South Sudan is on the frontlines of the climate crisis with families losing their homes, cattle, and fields due to extreme weather. He added that without humanitarian food aid, millions of people more will face an increasingly dire situation and unable to provide even the most basic food for their families.
The report was released on the same day the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) published a report that called out the international community to prioritise climate adaptation.
South Sudan has grappled with deadly conflict, natural disasters, economic troubles, and relentless political infighting since it won independence from Sudan in 2011. South Sudan spiraled into civil war shortly after gaining independence in 2011 and while a peace agreement was signed four years ago to bring the situation under control, the transitional government has not taken necessary steps to unify various military factions.
