Famine has eased in South Sudan after a significant scale up in the humanitarian response, according to new analysis released today. However, the situation remains dire across the country as the number of people struggling to find enough food each day has grown to 6 million – up from 4.9 million in February – and is the highest level of food insecurity ever experienced in South Sudan.
According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) update by the government, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, UN Children’s Fund, the World Food Programme, and other humanitarian partners, the accepted technical definition of famine no longer applies in former Unity State’s Leer and Mayendit counties where famine was declared in February. In two other counties deemed high risk in February – Koch and Panyijiar – immediate and sustained humanitarian assistance most likely played a significant role in preventing further deterioration into famine.
However, 45,000 people in former Unity and Jonglei states are still experiencing catastrophic conditions and face the prospect of starvation if humanitarian assistance is not sustained. This includes 25,000 people in former Unity State and 20,000 people in Jonglei where the situation has rapidly deteriorated because of displacements triggered by conflict and last year’s poor harvest.
Worsening conditions are mirrored across the country. The number of people facing emergency levels of hunger – one step below famine on the IPC scale – is 1.7 million up from 1 million in February.
“The crisis is not over. We are merely keeping people alive but far too many face extreme hunger on the edge of a cliff,” said FAO’s Director of Emergencies Dominique Burgeon. “The only way to stop this desperate situation is to stop the conflict, ensure unimpeded access and enable people to resume their livelihoods.”
The three UN agencies warned that the gains made in the worst hunger hotspots must not be lost. People’s ability to feed themselves has been severely eroded and continued life-saving emergency food and livelihoods support must continue to prevent a shift back to famine.
Source: Reliefweb. Read full article.
21 June, 2017
