The warning comes in the midst of increased violence and a worsening of food security which has 11 counties out of 13 in the state faced with levels of emergency hunger and 32,000 of these inhabitants faced with catastrophic hunger conditions, almost three times of previous estimates.
“”We see the devastating impact conflict on food security in South Sudan“Said Mary -llen McGroarty, national director of the World Food Program (WFP) in South Sudan.
“Conflicts are not content to destroy houses and means of subsistence, it Declies communities, cuts access to markets and sends prices for foodstuffs in the top“Said Ms. McGroarty.
Hunger at the country level
In total, 7.7 million people through South Sudan will face acute food insecurity, representing more than half of the entire population. In addition, 2.3 million children in South Sudan faced malnutrition, an increase of 2.1 million at the start of the year.
The FAO expects these figures to increase as the country is preparing to enter the lighter and humid season, which will further decrease food supplies and potentially worse.
The agency noted that the counties in which violence was largely absent has experienced improvements in food insecurity due to the increase in agricultural production and humanitarian efforts. However, hunger continues.
Despite such challenges in progress, the Malo network, the FAO country representative in South Sudan, said these results were proof of “peace dividends”.
Conflict
South Sudan, the youngest country in the world, acquired its independence in 2011 and immediately fell into a brutal and devastating civil war which finally ended in 2018 thanks to a peace agreement between political rivals which was largely held.
However, recent political tensions and an increase in violent attacks, especially in the state of the upper Nile, threaten to unravel the peace agreement and plunge the nation into conflict.
“”South Sudan cannot afford to enter conflicts at this stage. He will already plunge vulnerable communities into severe food insecurityLeading to general hunger, “said Meshack Malo, representative of the FAO country in South Sudan.
Humanitarian difficulties
FAO has said that humanitarian access should be improved in order to treat hunger worsening.
The FAO report also stressed that strengthening peace and capacity is the only lasting solution for food insecurity in South Sudan.
“Long-term peace is essential, but at the moment, it is essential that our teams are able to access and distribute food safely to families taken in conflict in the Haut-Nile, to bring them back from the edge and prevent famine,” said McGroarty.
