Four Million Face Food Shortages in South Sudan, the U.N. Warns
Four Million Face Food Shortages in South Sudan, the U.N. Warns
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Two Internally Displaced People carry belongings on their heads in Kuernynag in Jonglei State, which borders Upper Nile State and Unity State, on May 2, 2015CHARLES LOMODONG—AFP/Getty Images
Nearly 4 million people in South Sudan face “severe food insecurity” with tens of thousands existing on the brink of famine, starvation and death, the U.N. warned in report issued Thursday by UNICEF, the World Food Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization.
This is the first time since the nation’s civil war erupted two years ago that parts of the population fell into the fifth and most dire stage of food insecurity, “catastrophe.” Some families now endure on a single meal a day of water lilies and fish, the statement said.
“Livelihoods have been severely affected by high inflation rates, market disruption, conflict-related displacement, and loss of livestock and agricultural production,” said Serge Tissot, the head of the Food and Agriculture Organization in South Sudan.
The crisis has crept into previously unaffected areas, like the Bahr el Ghazal states in the country’s west. And even as South Sudan enters harvesting season, a time that usually promises some hunger relief, a third of the population lacks necessary nutrition.
Making matters worse, the violence of the civil war has cut off humanitarian access to those in need in Unity State. The sliver of land on the White Nile risks deteriorating into famine without aid, the U.N. groups warned.
“Agencies can support, but only if we have unrestricted access,” said Jonathan Veitch, a UNICEF representative in South Sudan. “If we do not, many children may die.”
Inside Sudan's War-Torn Darfur
Members of the rebel group Sudan Liberation Army led by Abdul Wahid (SLA-AW) climb towards the front lines in Jebel Marra, Central Darfur, Sudan, on March 4, 2015. The mountainous area has been a stronghold of the SLA-AW since the conflict between the neglected population and the Sudanese government broke out in 2003.Adriane OhanesianAn overhead view from the rebel territory that overlooks the town of Kroun in Jebel Marra, Central Darfur, Sudan, on March 4, 2015.Adriane OhanesianAdam Abdel, age 7, is seen on Feb. 27, 2015. He was badly burned after a bomb—said to be dropped by the Sudanese government on Feb. 12—landed next to his family's home in Burgu, Central Darfur, Sudan.Adriane OhanesianWomen from the town of Golo wake up in the morning on the side of a mountain where they sleep outside of Kome in Central Darfur, Sudan, on Feb. 28, 2015.Adriane OhanesianAfter fleeing a ground attack on the town of Golo on Jan. 24, a woman carries a bowl of water up the mountain from where she lives under a tree outside of Kome in Central Darfur, Sudan, Feb. 28, 2015.Adriane OhanesianHundreds of women and children seek shelter in a cave from the bombing by government forces outside of the town of Sarong in Central Darfur, Sudan, March 2, 2015.Adriane OhanesianIn the early morning, sisters wake up in a cave where they sleep with hundreds of other people whose villages have been destroyed, or who are seeking shelter from bombardment, outside Sarong in Central Darfur, Sudan, March 2, 2015.Adriane OhanesianRebel soldiers from the Sudan Liberation Army – Abdul Wahid (SLA-AW) keep warm by a fire outside their camp in North Darfur, Sudan, on Feb. 22, 2015.Adriane OhanesianRebel soldiers from the Sudan Liberation Army – Abdul Wahid (SLA-AW) prepare the truck to go for water in the middle of a sand storm in North Darfur, Sudan, on Feb. 24, 2015.Adriane OhanesianCivilians flee their homes with the few belongings they could carry, while members of the SLA-AW walk toward the front lines in Central Darfur, Sudan, on March 4, 2015.Adriane OhanesianRebels of the Sudan Liberation Army, led by Abdul Wahid (SLA-AW), defended the top of a mountain from government forces in Central Darfur, Sudan, on March 4, 2015. Adriane OhanesianA body decays out in the open above the abandoned town of Koi that was attacked and burned a week earlier by government forces in Central Darfur, Sudan, on March 2, 2015.Adriane Ohanesian
