South Sudan: Escalating Conflict Fuels Record Hunger and Displacement | UN Press Conference

Escalating Conflict and Humanitarian Crisis

• ⚠️ The escalating violence in South Sudan, particularly in the Greater Upper Nile region, is compounding a dire humanitarian situation.
• 🎯 Conflict and violence are forcing communities to flee their homes in some of the most vulnerable and food-insecure areas.
• 📉 Fighting has already displaced approximately 100,000 people from their homes in the Greater Upper Nile.

Record Levels of Food Insecurity

• 📌 Nearly 7.7 million people, over half the population, are facing crisis, emergency, or catastrophic levels of hunger.
• 📈 This represents some of the worst food insecurity levels seen in South Sudan since its independence.
• 🌾 The conflict is occurring as South Sudan enters its annual lean season, a time when hunger typically peaks.

WFP Operations and Challenges

• 🚫 Humanitarian food assistance is on hold, with WFP forced to pause operations and unable to reach over 213,000 people due to conflict in six counties.
• 🛶 Access to remote areas is severely challenged by active conflict, preventing WFP from using river or road transport for food delivery.
• 💔 Over 100 metric tons of food, including critical nutrition supplies for children, have been looted amidst the conflict.

Impact of Displacement and Economic Strain

• ✈️ Over 1.1 million people have fled the war in Sudan to South Sudan, many arriving with nothing and facing extreme hunger.
• 💸 The war in Sudan has disrupted supply chains, causing food prices to double or triple in border states and increasing WFP's operational costs.
• 🌡️ South Sudan is also grappling with climate change impacts, including flooding and drought, further straining resources.

Urgent Needs and Call for Peace

• 🆘 WFP requires $396 million to meet critical needs until December, aiming to assist 4.5 million people out of the 7.7 million facing hunger.
• 💧 A cholera outbreak poses an additional deadly threat, exacerbated by ongoing conflict, instability, and displacement.
• 🕊️ Leaders are urged to invest in basic services, call for peace, and provide stability for the people of South Sudan, who deserve freedom from conflict and hunger.