Africa-Press – South-Sudan. More than half of South Sudanese are staring at an ugly food crisis. This is as per the newly released Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, which reveals that 7.74 million people are endangered this year.
According to the report, an urgent response is needed to contain the situation where 6.83 million people will experience acute food insecurity. The report reveals that 2.37 million others are facing emergency food needs.
The severely affected areas included Fangak, Canal/Pigi, and Uror counties of Jonglei State; Pibor Administrative Area; Tombura County of Western Equatoria State; and Leer and Mayendit counties of Unity State. The catastrophe is attributed to recurring violence and flooding.
Speaking during the release of the report on Saturday, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Josephine Lagu, blamed the country’s insecurity and lack of implementation of the revitalised peace implementation on the growing food insecurity in South Sudan.
“Recent food system assessments confirmed that the drivers of food and nutrition insecurity in this country reside in microeconomic management. They reside in the slow pace of the peace agreement’s implementation and inside the weak institutional and governance framework, “Josephine said.
According to the report, 52 of the 79 counties in South Sudan will require emergency response while 23 counties will face an acute crisis that requires joint efforts of both the government and aid agencies to address.
The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan, Sara Beysolow Nyanti, said the situation requires parties to implement the peace agreement to allow the population to return to their farmlands to cultivate them.
“We will continue to have the situation in South Sudan if we do not start to make that transition to ensure peace at the community level,” said Beysolow.
Despite the worsening humanitarian situation facing women, children, and elderly groups, the most affected are humanitarian workers, who have continued to face security threats in the course of delivering the services.
The aid agencies called on the government to provide security and protect aid workers to rescue vulnerable populations in the country in order to avert the crisis.
Hundreds of humanitarian agencies have lost their lives since the onset of the crisis in 2013, with the latest incident in Jonglei State, where an aid worker lost his life in a roadside attack last month.
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