Driven by insecurity, the effects of COVID-19, an on-going economic crisis, and the impact of flooding on livelihoods, people in South Sudan’s Pibor County, are facing catastrophic levels of hunger. A new UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report projects that from April to July 2021, an estimated 7.24 million people, or 60 per cent of the country’s population, face either a state of an official food crisis or worsening acute food insecurity.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP) are scaling up their response, along with other humanitarian aid organizations. “The coming year will be extremely tough, but we are determined to do all we can to reach more people for longer periods”, said Makena Walker, WFP’s Deputy Country Director. IPC figures – which estimate that between October and November, 6.5 million people in South Sudan faced severe acute food insecurity – follow two independent reports published by the IPC Global Support Unit last week, indicated that tens of thousands are likely to face famine conditions in Jonglei state’s Pibor county, where many families are experiencing high levels of acute malnutrition and even death.
In this situation, many families are experiencing high levels of acute malnutrition and even mortality. In another five counties (Akobo, Aweil South, Tonj East, Tonj North and Tonj South), some communities are facing catastrophic conditions, the independent analysis found. Around 1.4 million children aged between 6 months and 5 years are expected to be acutely malnourished in 2021 and will need life-saving treatment, according to report. This includes 313 000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition and more than a million children suffering from moderate acute malnutrition. At the same time, 483 000 pregnant or breastfeeding women are acutely malnourished and in need of treatment.
