The World Food Programme (WFP) has urged all parties in South Sudan to immediately halt fighting and guarantee safe humanitarian access to Jonglei State, where escalating violence is threatening hundreds of thousands of people already facing crisis-level hunger, the agency said. Nearly 60 percent of the population in Jonglei is expected to struggle with severe food insecurity during the upcoming lean season.
“This military escalation could not have come at a worse time,” warned Adham Effendi, WFP’s acting Country Director in South Sudan. “Our window to reach the most vulnerable is quickly closing. The time to act is now—we urge all parties to protect civilians and aid workers and allow the delivery of vital humanitarian assistance.”
The lean season, from April to July, is when hunger peaks and roads become impassable due to heavy rains. WFP needs to pre-position food and relief supplies in February, but insecurity and movement restrictions are blocking operations. Both the WFP-led Logistics Cluster and the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) have not yet received security clearance from authorities to move convoys and coordinate passenger flights for aid workers.
“It’s imperative that these restrictions be lifted immediately,” Effendi said. “WFP has the teams, the capacity, and the supplies ready—we just need safe passage. Hundreds of thousands of lives depend on it.”
Across South Sudan, WFP plans to assist 3.3 million people this year through emergency food distributions, nutrition programmes, school meals, cash transfers, and resilience projects. Without unimpeded access, the agency warns, vast areas of the country—especially conflict-affected Jonglei—could soon become unreachable, leaving families without food or humanitarian support as conditions continue to deteriorate.
