UN warns nearly 8 million face acute hunger in South Sudan as conflict deepens crisis

A United Nations report released on Tuesday has warned that nearly eight million people in South Sudan are at risk of acute hunger, as escalating conflict, displacement and economic strain continue to deepen the country’s humanitarian crisis in the coming months.

The report estimates that 7.8 million people, around 56 per cent of the population, will experience high levels of food insecurity.

The Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Food Programme and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) urged the international community to act swiftly to prevent what they described as an “irreversible humanitarian catastrophe”.

Rising malnutrition among children

According to the report, the number of children aged between six months and five years suffering from acute malnutrition has increased by 100,000 over the past six months, bringing the total to 2.2 million.

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It further estimates that 700,000 children are at grave risk of dying.

Ongoing fighting has damaged or shut down many nutritional services across the country, contributing to a rise in acute malnutrition.

At the same time, supply shortages and insufficient funding have limited access to life-saving treatment.

Conflict and external pressures fuel crisis

The humanitarian situation in South Sudan, the world’s youngest country, continues to be driven by ethnic conflict, climate change and spillover from fighting in neighbouring Sudan, from which it gained independence following a referendum in 2011.

The country’s worsening economic crisis has further intensified the situation, with South Sudan remaining among the poorest nations globally.

Renewed fears of civil war

In recent months, concerns have increased that the country could slide back into full-scale civil war, more than seven years after a 2018 peace agreement that ended a conflict responsible for nearly 400,000 deaths.

Heavy clashes between the state army, the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces, and opposition groups have escalated in recent months.

The unrest is linked to a long-standing rivalry between President Salva Kiir Mayardit and suspended Vice President Riek Machar. Machar is currently on trial in Juba on charges of murder, treason and crimes against humanity, which he denies.