Extreme hunger risk in South Sudan as fighting blocks food aid
According to the latest Integrated Phase Classification (IPC), or food security analysis for South Sudan, almost four million people in South Sudan are severely hungry – nearly twice as many compared to this time last year. In Unity state, an estimated 30,000 people are experiencing Catastrophe (IPC Classification Phase 5) and need urgent and immediate humanitarian access. By December 2015, at least 2.4 million people will continue to face severe food insecurity, both in conflict-affected areas and in other parts of the country.
The report voiced concerns about the Greater Equatoria region, where there has been a serious deterioration of food security. “We came back home in 2009 because peace had finally come. We worked hard to cultivate our land and were able to live off it for years. That all changed this year,” says Orlino, a farmer in Lobonok, Central Equatoria State. “The rains were very poor. Our crops did not do well, and we no longer have enough to eat, let alone sell. Most of us are now cutting trees to make charcoal to sell by the road, waiting to harvest the crops that survive. If this borehole was not here, we would have migrated by now.”
Oxfam released a statement in response to the alarming report, calling on the warring parties to respect the ceasefire and enable people to reach the help they desperately need. Oxfam reiterated the need for the international community to continue to apply all diplomatic measures that will support the delivery of real, lasting peace.
“This unbearable suffering will only end if the peace agreement holds, fighting stops immediately and the long process of reconciliation begins,” said Oxfam’s Country Director Zlatko Gegic.