Refugees in South Sudan face extreme hunger as funding runs out

More than 650,000 refugees and asylum seekers in South Sudan risk losing access to lifesaving food, nutrition and other assistance due to critical funding shortfalls, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the  World Food Programme (WFP) warned on 14 August 2026, according to a joint press release. Without immediate funding, the final food and nutrition assistance for the most vulnerable 240,000 refugees will be provided in September. These are the last remaining refugees of the 650,000 who had been receiving food support across the country. The two agencies cautioned that families who fled war and hunger would have nowhere else to turn. They jointly appealed to the international community for immediate, flexible funding.

The warning comes as conflict across the region continues to force people to flee across borders into neighbouring countries in search of food, shelter and safety. In South Sudan, up to 3,000 refugees and returnees continue to arrive from Sudan each week, placing further pressure on already overstretched humanitarian resources. South Sudan has continued to uphold its open-door policy for refugees despite facing significant humanitarian and development challenges of its own. More than 1.4 million refugees and returnees have crossed into South Sudan since war erupted in Sudan in 2023. The funding crisis is unfolding against the backdrop of one of the world’s deepest hunger emergencies.

More than 7.8 million people across South Sudan — more than half the population — are facing high levels of acute food insecurity, while 2.2 million children are acutely malnourished. WFP has already been forced to prioritize assistance for only the most vulnerable refugee families, who are receiving just 50 percent of a full food ration. WFP faces an immediate $37 million funding gap for its refugee response and an overall funding shortfall of $258 million for the remainder of 2026. That shortfall threatens lifesaving support for 4.2 million food-insecure people across the country. UNHCR has secured only 28 percent of the $286 million needed this year to sustain core protection and assistance for nearly four million refugees, internally displaced persons, returnees, and vulnerable host communities.

The anticipated cut in critical support comes at the height of the rainy season when food becomes scarcer, market prices rise and flooded or degraded roads make humanitarian access increasingly difficult. Many refugee families are already eating fewer and smaller meals, borrowing money to buy food, selling what little they own, and cutting spending on health, education and shelter. Consequences of an interruption in critical aid would be immediate and long-lasting, including heightened risks of malnutrition, and exploitation and abuse of women and children. UNHCR is particularly concerned about the risk of further cross-border movement as people search for food and assistance. Adham Effendi, Deputy Country Director for WFP in South Sudan, said, “We are seeing the devastating impact of conflicts that force people from their homes collide with a severe shortage of resources that is now making the crisis worse.”

Effendi added that food assistance is often the difference between coping and crisis for refugees and host communities.

Mesfin Degefu, UNHCR Deputy Representative in South Sudan, said, “Every week, thousands more refugees and returnees continue to arrive from Sudan with almost nothing, many exhausted, hungry and in urgent need of protection and assistance.”

Degefu noted that refugees who have been in South Sudan for many years are working to rebuild their lives and move towards greater self-reliance. He warned that cutting assistance now undermines hard-won progress in education, livelihoods and resilience. The two agencies urged donors to act to prevent a suspension of lifesaving assistance and protect families on the frontlines of this regional crisis.