The World Food Programme has warned that South Sudan is facing one of its most dangerous humanitarian periods in years, as rising needs and declining funding threaten food assistance for millions of vulnerable people.
Speaking at a Geneva briefing on Tuesday, WFP Assistant Executive Director for Programme Operations Matthew Hollingworth described the situation as a “collision of crises,” with conflict, displacement, economic hardship and climate shocks converging as humanitarian resources dwindle.
“Across the whole country, conflict, displacement, economic hardship, climate shocks, and the situation in neighbouring Sudan are all converging to push millions of people deeper into vulnerability,” Hollingworth said.
He said 7.8 million people struggle to find food each day, while 2.2 million children and 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women require urgent nutrition support.
Hollingworth warned that more than one million vulnerable people could lose access to life-saving food and nutrition assistance by October unless additional funding is secured.
Funding shortages threaten food assistance
WFP currently faces an 86-million-dollar funding gap and a further shortfall of 416 million dollars over the next six months, according to Hollingworth.
He said the shortfall threatens the agency’s ability to support refugees, displaced people and vulnerable host communities, including people living in areas of Jonglei State facing the risk of famine.
“If you just look at WFP, we have an USD86 million gap right now, and a USD416 million gap over the next six months,” he said.
“Without that, we can’t serve the refugees. We can’t serve the displaced. We can’t serve the vulnerable host communities during these six months.”
The impact of declining resources is evident at WFP’s logistics hub in Malakal, where food stocks have dropped sharply.
Hollingworth said the facility held 10,000 metric tonnes of food at the same time last year, compared with less than 300 tonnes during his recent visit.
“Today, there’s less than 300 metric tons of food in that same complex, not because the numbers have fallen, not because there’s less need, not because things have improved, but because simply put, humanitarian agencies just don’t have the resources anymore,” he said.
The reduction threatens the agency’s ability to pre-position supplies for distribution to remote communities when roads become accessible after the rainy season.
Conflict in Sudan adds pressure
The humanitarian situation is further complicated by people fleeing the conflict in neighbouring Sudan.
Hollingworth said around 3,000 refugees and returnees cross into South Sudan each week in search of safety, food, water and shelter.
During a recent visit to Renk, he met families who had travelled for days, sometimes weeks, to escape violence and uncertainty.
He recounted the experience of Hapsa Hassan, a mother of four who fled Damazin in Sudan’s Blue Nile State and walked nearly 200 kilometres to reach a transit camp in Renk.
Although Hassan received food assistance from WFP and nutrition support for her children from UNICEF, Hollingworth said the support remained insufficient to meet the family’s needs.
He said displaced families increasingly depend on host communities that are themselves struggling with food shortages and limited resources.
Hollingworth also raised concerns about the safety of women and girls who must leave transit camps to look for food and work.
Illegal checkpoints disrupt aid delivery
Hollingworth said illegal checkpoints and taxation along the River Nile were increasing the cost of transporting humanitarian supplies and commercial goods.
He said the charges delay deliveries, raise operating expenses and discourage traders from transporting goods to vulnerable areas.
In Malakal, he said, the cost of transporting supplies has become so high that many goods are now flown in rather than delivered by road or river.
The disruptions are affecting both humanitarian operations and commercial supply chains, reducing the availability of essential goods in communities already facing food insecurity.
Hollingworth called for action to stop illegal charges and ensure that assistance and commercial supplies can move efficiently across the country.
Climate shocks undermine food production
The WFP official also highlighted the combined effects of flooding and drought on communities in Jonglei State.
During a visit to Canal Pigi, he met families whose farmland remained submerged seven years after the original floods, leaving them unable to produce food.
At the same time, drought conditions have affected the limited areas of land that remain available for cultivation.
He warned that repeated climate shocks were undermining local food production and increasing communities’ dependence on humanitarian assistance.
WFP calls on government to act
Hollingworth urged the Government of South Sudan to mobilise domestic resources to support vulnerable citizens, saying humanitarian agencies could not carry the responsibility alone.
“The humanitarian community cannot replace the obligations that the government has for their own citizens,” he said.
He said government support could include financial resources and food produced in parts of the country where agricultural production remains possible.
He also urged authorities to stop illegal taxation that reduces the impact of humanitarian assistance and increases the cost of moving essential goods.
Hollingworth said South Sudan was approaching a critical point, with humanitarian needs at their highest levels in more than a decade while available funding continued to decline.
“We are about to drop off the financial cliff at a time when the needs are at the greatest level that they’ve been at for the past 13 or 14 years,” he said.
He called for urgent financial support and coordinated action to sustain food assistance, protect vulnerable communities and prevent further deterioration in the country’s food security situation.
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