Dec 18, 2020(Nyamilepedia) — Millions of people in South Sudan have been pushed to a breaking point as food insecurity worsens.
While briefing the UN security Council on the humanitarian situation in South Sudan yesterday, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock named violence, floods and deteriorating economy as some of the reasons behind the worsening food insecurity.
“He noted that millions of South Sudanese have been pushed to a breaking point. Violence, flooding, COVID-19 and a deteriorating economy are making an already bad humanitarian crisis much worse,” read a report released by OCHA.
According to the report, the humanitarian agencies and non-governmental organizations in South Sudan are scaling up response across sectors.
The report further stated that the World Food Programme (WFP) has expanded its air fleet, to get food, nutrition and health services delivered more quickly in a challenging logistical and security environment.
The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator said that reiterated that the only way to prevent the situation from worsening is to de-escalate violence, safe access to people in need and additional funding to tackle the food insecurity in the country.
“Mr. Lowcock reiterated three things that need to happen now to prevent the problem from worsening; de-escalate the violence; safe and unhindered access to reach people in need; and additional funding for the Humanitarian Response Plan, particularly to deal with severe food insecurity,” the statement continued.
In September, Relief Web had reported that the scale and severity of acute food insecurity in South Sudan through January 2021 is expected to remain among the highest recorded since 2014.
It called for urgent and sustained humanitarian food assistance beyond the currently planned to save lives and protect livelihoods in the ongoing lean season and post-harvest periods.
