A hunger emergency is looming in South Sudan amongst the refugee families due to the conflict in Sudan, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned Tuesday.
In a statement, the WFP said a hunger emergency is looming on the border between South Sudan and Sudan as families fleeing fighting in Sudan continue to cross the border every day.
It called for mobilizing support for USD 120 million to provide food.
New data gathered by WFP shows that among the nearly 300,000 people who have arrived in South Sudan in the last five months, one in five children are malnourished and 90 percent of families say they are going multiple days without eating, it noted.
It elaborated that almost all of those who have crossed the border since fighting broke out in Sudan in mid-April are South Sudanese and they are returning to a country already facing unprecedented humanitarian needs.
It pointed out that WFP is providing food assistance to meet the immediate needs of the families at the border, delivering hot meals, high-energy biscuits, dry rations, and cash-based transfers, as well as providing specialized nutrition support for children and mothers.
Across South Sudan, WFP has a funding gap of USD 536 million over the next six months and was only able to reach 40 per cent of food insecure people with food assistance in 2023, the statement said.
Source: Kuwait News Agency