Nearly 6 million people in South Sudan—almost half the population—are facing acute hunger, with dwindling access to clean water and sanitation as funding cuts have stripped away vital support just when it’s needed most, Oxfam warned. The sharp drop in aid comes as conflict, flooding, and spillover from Sudan’s civil war have pushed over 2 million people from their homes.
This year, South Sudan has received the lowest donor funding since the country was founded in 2011. U.S. cuts have been especially harsh: since USAID was shuttered earlier this year, Washington has slashed its humanitarian budget by 60 percent. With just weeks left in 2025, the country’s $1.7 billion emergency appeal is less than 41 percent funded, and more cuts expected in 2026 could put hundreds of thousands more lives at risk.
In Renk, a border town where up to 1,000 people fleeing Sudan arrive daily at transit centers, Oxfam is being forced to scale down operations by 70 percent over the next month. Without new funding by February, it may have to close entirely.
“These aid cuts are catastrophic for millions already facing hunger and disease,” said Shabnam Baloch, Oxfam’s South Sudan Country Director. “It’s as if the world is turning its back on those who need help most, at the very moment their survival hangs in the balance.”
Many of those who fled Sudan’s violence are now stuck in Renk, where health systems are buckling. In one transit center, there’s only one clean water tap for every 433 people—half the humanitarian standard. Cases of cholera, acute watery diarrhea, and Hepatitis E are rising, while 450 hospitals or clinics are either shut or barely functioning.
A recent food security report found that nearly 6 million people are experiencing severe hunger, including 1.3 million with very high malnutrition and elevated mortality. That figure is expected to climb to 7.5 million by April, and Oxfam warns that many more could slide into catastrophic hunger as support continues to dry up.
“Few organizations are operating now, unlike before,” said Maria, who returned from Sudan. “Sanitation and hygiene are poor, many water taps don’t work. We fear for what comes next. Yet water is life.”
Oxfam also raised concerns that funding cuts are putting women and girls at greater risk. Without support, desperate families are forced to turn to dangerous coping strategies—sending girls to forage in unsafe areas where they face sexual violence, or resorting to child marriage.
“We urge donors not to forget what’s happening in Sudan and its impact on South Sudan,” Baloch said. “Millions of vulnerable people could starve or face rapid disease spread if the lifeline of aid is not urgently restored.”
