UNITED NATIONS, United States: More than seven million people in fragile South Sudan are at risk of acute food shortages in the coming months, including tens of thousands at “catastrophic” levels of famine, the United Nations warned on Tuesday.
An estimated 7.1 million people are likely to experience high levels of acute food insecurity between April and July 2024, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement.
Within this group, “79,000 people are at risk of catastrophic level (IPC phase 5)” – the equivalent of famine – “mostly in locations affected by climate shocks, economic crisis and conflict,” it added.
Almost 13 years after declaring independence in 2011, the world’s youngest country remains plagued by instability and violence.
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A total of nine million people are in need of humanitarian aid in South Sudan, which has been under increasing pressure from the war in neighbouring Sudan for the past year.
At least 670,000 people have fled to South Sudan from the north since fighting began in April 2023, according to OCHA. Of these, about 80 percent are South Sudanese who previously found refuge in Sudan.
OCHA further said that this influx of returnees and refugees continues to put additional pressure on limited services at border points and destination areas.
