UN agencies warn of severe hunger crisis in South Sudan
By Denis Ejulu
The United Nations agencies on Thursday warned of severe hunger crisis that could lead to famine in three counties affected by conflict, insecurity and climatic shocks in South Sudan, with 83,000 people facing high levels of acute food insecurity including Pibor County.
The World Food Program (WFP), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the UN Children’s Fund or UNICEF said that overall 7.7 million people or 57 percent of the population are facing high levels of acute food insecurity between April and July 2025, according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report released in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.
They warned that Luakpiny/Nasir and Ulang Counties are at risk of famine due to the ongoing conflict, which has displaced thousands after fighting erupted in February between the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) and the White Army militia.
The report also disclosed that 39,000 of the refugees and returnees who fled conflict in neighboring Sudan are also facing high levels of acute food insecurity
Anita Kiki Gbeho, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan noted that South Sudan faces a “perfect storm” exacerbated by the Sudan crisis, political tensions, economic crisis and food insecurity.
“The data also shows that peace matters, in areas of conflict in Upper Nile food security and malnutrition for the most vulnerable have slipped into IPC phase 5 levels (catastrophic). In 10 counties, where violence has subsided food security has improved moving from IPC phase 4 to phase 3. This reinforces a fundamental truth, where peace prevails communities can recover,” Gbeho said.
Gbeho emphasized the need for advocacy and work towards a lasting peace and a complete cessation of hostilities, adding that without these steps being taken humanitarian and development efforts will ultimately be futile.
In addition, she called for scaling up integrated health, nutrition and sanitation interventions for women and children who are acutely malnourished in the most vulnerable counties.
Hussein Abdelbagi Akol, minister of agriculture and food security called for a massive coordinated multi-sectorial response to the affected population, adding that government is committed to guarantee access and protection for humanitarian efforts.
“This is not just a humanitarian issue, this is a national emergency, even more alarming is that 83,000 of our people are facing catastrophic levels of hunger and conditions so dire and they are on the brink of starvation,” Akol said.
The report noted that the overall malnutrition burden has increased from 2.1 million to 2.3 million children under the age of five experiencing acute malnutrition and in need of treatment in 2025, compared to the to the previous IPC projection.
It disclosed that while 714,439 children are at risk of severe acute malnutrition, noting that about 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women across four counties of Ulang, Nasir, Baliet and Rubkona are expected to need treatment for acute malnutrition.
“This is devastating for these women and these families. This is due to disease, cholera outbreak, the funding cuts that we are seeing coming through health and nutrition and also reductions in water and sanitation sectors in addition to conflict,” Mary-Ellen McGroarty, WFP representative for South Sudan said.
She also called for unhindered access for humanitarians, adding that currently they are finding difficulties in facilitating humanitarian support to those in need along the River Nile and Sobat River.
“As we look at the impact of conflict, there is also some little bit of good news in this report, that we need to highlight in some parts of the country, where we have seen the situation improve and a significant number of people move back into IPC 3 or lower, and that’s down to stability,” she disclosed.
McGroarty emphasized that this remarkable improvement was due to peace and stability in these areas, which enabled people to get back to their farm lands, and reopening of markets.
The IPC findings also reveal that around 2.4 million people (18 percent of the population analyzed) are facing IPC phase 4 (emergency) levels of acute food insecurity and nearly 5.2 million people are facing IPC phase 3 (crisis) levels of acute food insecurity.
Meshack Malo, FAO representative in South Sudan noted that the improvement from IPC phase 4 to IPC phase 3, in ten counties, is clear testament of the dividends of peace.
“South Sudan cannot afford to sink into conflict at this point in time. It will plunge already vulnerable communities into severe food insecurity, leading to widespread hunger as farmers will be prevented from working on their land,” Malo said.
