South Sudan: extreme weather conditions raise concerns of food insecurity

Extreme weather due to the climate crisis has driven hunger in South Sudan to unprecedented levels.

Access to food has become scarce even for those who were previously able to feed themselves, according to the United Nations food agency.

The World Food Program says that South Sudan is simultaneously drowning and drying due to a catastrophic combination of extreme climate events.

Four years of flooding around Bentiu in the young nation have led to widespread displacement, submersion of entire villages as well as farm, and grazing land, affecting over a million people.

With supply routes cut off by fighting in Sudan, a unique combination of catastrophic floods and devastating drought have pushed the situation to the extreme, contributing to rising hunger.

Almost two-thirds of the population are facing crisis or worse levels of hunger, according to the world food program, warning that this is the highest number ever, surpassing even the height of the country’s civil war.

The situation in South Sudan is worsened by rising food and fuel prices together with the ongoing conflict in Sudan.

The WFP launched an urgent appeal for funds, calling for an additional $567 million over the next six months in order to keep lifesaving assistance going and to invest in long-term resilience building initiatives.