“Alarming” Food Insecurity Threatens Seven Million People in South Sudan
“Alarming” food insecurity threatens nearly seven million people in South Sudan, according to a new report by three United Nations agencies appealing for greater assistance and better access to humanitarian relief.*
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The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP), in collaboration with the Government of South Sudan, released on Friday [22 February 2019] the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), which indicated that acutely food insecure people there has shot up by 13 per cent since January last year.
“The projections are alarming and food security continues to worsen,” said Pierre Vauthier, FAO’s interim Representative in the country. “Together with the people of South Sudan, we need to act urgently to reverse this trend.”
The increase includes some 30,000 people who are already experiencing extreme food insecurity in Jonglei and Lakes states, in eastern and central South Sudan.
Food insecurity is driven by population displacement and conflict, which disrupts food production, depletes livestock and limits access to alternative food sources.
Prolonged dry spells, flooding, crop disease and pest infestation have also impacted rain-dependent agricultural production, leaving people particularly vulnerable to high prices and limited food availability.
Moreover, local cereal production in 2019 will supply 52 per cent of South Sudan’s cereal needs, compared to 61 per cent in 2018.
“Our priority is to support families to maintain and increase their production, and help agro-pastoral communities preserve their livelihoods,” Mr. Vauthier asserted.
Source: https://human-wrongs-watch.net/2019/02/23/alarming-food-insecurity-threatens-seven-million-people-in-south-sudan/
