A global hunger monitor predicts that more than 7.55 million people in South Sudan will be afflicted with malnutrition during the April-to-July lean season, which is typically when food supplies are lowest.
A UN-backed food security watchdog, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), issued the stark warning on Tuesday, predicting that as conflict between rival political factions grows and global aid funding decreases, hunger will increase significantly.
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The assessment comes as Salva Kiir’s suspension of his main political rival and First Vice President Riek Machar, who is facing treason charges, leaves the nation on the verge of a new civil war.
The IPC reported that about 5.97 million South Sudanese people are currently suffering from acute malnutrition, accounting for 42 percent of the population.
In Luakpiny Nasir and Fangak, where there is persistent conflict and flooding, some 28, 000 people are already categorized as living in catastrophic conditions, the most severe category under the IPC.
According to the report, six counties are projected to experience the most severe acute malnutrition in 2026, primarily as a result of a cholera outbreak that has spread throughout the country.
By June 2026, it said, 1.15 million pregnant and breastfeeding women and more than 2.1 million children under the age of five are at risk of acute malnutrition.
According to the IPC report, “South Sudan’s high level of acute food insecurity is of great concern and necessitates an immediate and extensive response to save lives.”
According to the report, humanitarian access is still one of the most pressing issues. According to the report, in many areas of the nation, months of insecurities, looting, and flooding have forced communities to be separated for months.
The South Sudanese country director for the World Food Programme, Mary-Ellen McGroarty, called the trend “alarming.”
“The persistent levels of hunger are deeply troubling. People have made the first steps toward recovery in nations where there has been peace and actors have consistently had access to both resources and resources. Although this improvement is encouraging, continued improvement must be made in all affected communities.
A series of crises resulted in the hunger emergency. Almost 2, 000 people have been killed and more than 445, 000 have been displaced by ongoing fighting between government forces and militias affiliated with Machar this year, according to figures from the International Committee of the Red Cross.
South Sudan has experienced a range of humanitarian emergencies as a result of its ongoing political instability, fragile peace agreements, and civil war since its independence in 2011.
A civil war along ethnic lines broke out within two years of independence when Machar, a Nuer, was dismissed by President Kiir from the country’s second-largest community.
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