About 4.9 mn people in urgent need of aid as famine hits South Sudan

Warning that more than 4.9 million people (which is more than 40% of South Sudan’s population) are in urgent need of food, agriculture and nutrition assistance, famine has been formally declared in some parts of South Sudan by the United Nations.

Attributing this catastrophic condition to war and a collapsing economy, Serge Tissot, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Representative in South Sudan, in a news release issued jointly with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP) said, “Famine has become a tragic reality in parts of South Sudan and our worst fears have been realised. Many families have exhausted every means they have to survive.”

He stated that the worst-affected people are predominantly farmers who have lost their livestock, even their farming tools.

The South Sudan famine is being regarded as the worst hunger catastrophe since fighting erupted more than three years ago between rival forces – the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) loyal to President Salva Kiir and the SPLA in Opposition backing First Vice-President Riek Machar, as per media reports.