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South Sudan: UN humanitarians forced to cut aid to 1.7 million
Food assistance to 1.7 million people in South Sudan has been suspended, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday, citing a funding crunch and rising needs. “Essentially, we’re in ‘famine-prevention mode’,” the agency said.
One look at the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) data shows that is the very last thing South Sudan needs.
“We had planned to provide food assistance to 6.2 million people this year, but faced with increasing humanitarian needs and insufficient funding, we have taken the painful step to suspend food assistance to 1.7 million people,” said Adeyinka Badejo-Sanogo, WFP Acting Country Director in South Sudan. “These are people that are experiencing emergency and crisis levels of food insecurity, what we call IPC4 and IPC3.”
The WFP official explained that more than two in three people are experiencing a serious humanitarian and protection crisis and need help to survive. “Of these, we estimate that 8.3 million people, including internally displaced persons and refugees, will endure acute severe hunger during the lean season.”
The development comes as communities prepare for a fourth consecutive year of flash-flooding, which has left vast stretches of ground sodden and fields unusable, particularly in Jonglei, Upper Nile and Unity states.
In 2021, one million people fled their homes because of the flooding in South Sudan. This year, it’s estimated that approximately 600,000 are in the path of expanding flood waters and at risk of displacement.
“We are expecting a fourth year of massive flooding based on forecasts of an above-average rainfall, adding on to stagnant waters that have not receded from previous years,” said Ms. Badejo-Sanogo.
There is particular concern because the cutbacks are happening at the start of the lean season. “Families have completely exhausted any food reserves and are likely to continue to suffer acute levels of hunger as the lean season deepens,” the WFP official said. “Essentially, WFP in South Sudan, we are in ‘famine-prevention’ mode.”
Chronic levels of violence in parts of South Sudan continues to drive displacement and vulnerability, Ms. Badejo-Sanogo continued. In late April, additional UN peacekeepers were deployed to Leer county, after a surge in rapes, beheadings, civilians being burned alive and attacks on humanitarians.
“The political and security context in South Sudan remains volatile and it continues to aggravate the lives of communities,” the WFP official explained. “So far this year, we have seen 200,000 people newly displaced as a result of conflicts. And with displacement comes disruption in lives and livelihoods. And WFP, we're at a situation where we simply do not have the resources to respond to new emergencies.”
Without fresh funding, WFP has warned that more vulnerable people will have revert to survival strategies such as skipping or reducing meals, selling assets, sending their children to work and child marriage.
To support crisis response and resilience-building, the UN agency requires $426 million to reach six million food insecure people over the next six months.
ends
STORY: South Sudan Hunger Alert – WFP
TRT: 3 min 01 s
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 14 June 2022 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior medium shot, Palais des Nations flag alley, a sunny day.
- Wide shot, journalists, podium and moderator in press briefing room, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Adeyinka Badejo-Sanogo, WFP Acting Country Director in South Sudan (From Juba): “WFP, we had planned to provide food assistance to 6.2 million people this year, but faced with increasing humanitarian needs and insufficient funding, we have taken the painful step to suspend food assistance to 1.7 million people. And these are people that are experiencing emergency and crisis levels of food insecurity, what we call IPC4 and IPC3.”
- Close-up, participant’s face blurred in foreground, remote speaker’s face on TV screen to rear.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Adeyinka Badejo-Sanogo, WFP Acting Country Director in South Sudan (From Juba): “We are particularly concerned with these cuts, especially because these cuts are happening at the start of the lean season, when families have completely exhausted any food reserves and are likely to continue to suffer acute levels of hunger as the lean season deepens. Essentially, WFP in South Sudan, we are in ‘famine-prevention’ mode.”
- Medium shot, journalists seated and listening to the speaker.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Adeyinka Badejo-Sanogo, WFP Acting Country Director in South Sudan (From Juba): “More than two-thirds of the South Sudanese population are experiencing a serious humanitarian and protection crisis and require humanitarian assistance to survive. Of these, we estimate that 8.3 million people, including internally displaced persons and refugees, will endure acute severe hunger during the lean season.”
- Close-up, journalists’ hands typing on laptops.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Adeyinka Badejo-Sanogo, WFP Acting Country Director in South Sudan (From Juba): “We are expecting a fourth year of massive flooding based on forecasts of an above-average rainfall, adding on to stagnant waters that have not receded from previous years.”
- Close-up, photographer taking photos, looks up.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Adeyinka Badejo-Sanogo, WFP Acting Country Director in South Sudan (From Juba): “The political and security context in South Sudan remains volatile and it continues to aggravate the lives of communities. So far this year, we have seen 200,000 people newly displaced as a result of conflicts. And with displacement comes disruption in lives and livelihoods. And WFP, we're at a situation where we simply do not have the resources to respond to new emergencies.”
- Close-up, TV camera and tripod blurred in foreground, TV screen showing speakers to rear.
- Medium shot, participants sitting, one has his arms folded, photographer positioning for a photo to rear.
- Medium shot, participants seated in front of laptops following the press conference.
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New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
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Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
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Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
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