Half of Sudan‘s population faces food crisis. South Sudan’s 7.7 million people – or 63 percent of the population – are experiencing a food catastrophe as a result of armed battles, floods, and drought.
Extreme weather conditions increased armed violence, and the number of internally displaced people have all contributed to heightened food insecurity, according to the UN and the government of South Sudan, which has intensified since last year.
“If we don’t start making that transition to securing peace at the community levels, we will continue to have the situation we have in South Sudan,” UN Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan Sara Beysolow Nyanti said.
Half of Sudan’s population faces food crisis. According to a combined UN and government assessment, the states of Unity, Jonglei, Upper Nile, Warrap, and Eastern Equatorial are the worst affected by food shortages.
“Until the violence is resolved, these numbers will continue to rise since people do not have secure access to their fields to produce,” Adeyinka Badejo, World Food Programme interim country director in South Sudan, said.
“We implore the country’s leaders to continue down the path of peace.”
After weeks of rising warfare, South Sudan President Salva Kiir and his vice president, Riek Machar, agreed last week to resume discussions on combining their respective forces under a unified command.
Despite the accord, new violence broke out on Friday in the oil-rich Unity State between the government and rebel forces.
Despite signing a peace accord in 2018 to end the country’s five-year civil war and forming a unity government two years ago, confrontations between Kiir and Machar’s opposing sides have continued due to disagreements over how power should be shared.
Since its independence in 2011, South Sudan has been in a state of insecurity. The UN has condemned both leaders for their roles in the bloodshed, as well as for suffocating political liberties and robbing national finances.
Almost 400,000 people have died as a result of the violence, and millions have been uprooted from their homes.
Last month, the United Nations launched a worldwide appeal for South Sudan to seek $1.7 billion in aid to support millions of people until 2022. According to the UN, more than two-thirds of the population — about nine million people – require humanitarian assistance.
