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On 20th February, 2017 the Government declared famine in two Counties of South Sudan — Leer and Mayiandit More than 100,000 people in the two Counties of Unity state are confirmed to be experiencing famine and there are fears that the situation will spread as an additional 1 million South Sudanese may be affected in other areas. The calamity is the result of prolonged civil war and rising economic hardship that almost affected the entire country. The classification of famine in parts of country highlights the human suffering and widespread humanitarian crisis caused by the three-year-old civil war.
Today, an estimated 5.5 million people in South Sudan are severely food insecure of which 250.000 children are confirmed to be malnourished. Traditionally, the country's breadbasket such as Equatoria and Upper Nile regions have been hit hard by insecurity that displaced million of people: Consequently, this has disrupted agricultural production and livelihoods activities in these areas. Also, the food insecurity in South Sudan has been compounded by erratic rains fall in 2016.
In response to the famine in Leer and Myandit and to prevent further escalation of food insecurity, H.E. President Salva Kiir Mayardit spelled out the TGoNU's key priorities to address humanitarian crisis include; unhindered access to areas hit by the famine affected by food insecurity in Greater Bahr el Gahazal and Greater Equatoria areas; revival of the struggling economy; and the implementation of national dialogue initiative.
Humanitarian organizations on the other hand are vigorously appealing for funding to respond to the escalating crisis, with US$1.6 billion required to provide life-saving assistance and protection to some 5.8 million people across South Sudan in 2017. The South Sudan's Country Humanitarian Coordinator Dr. Eugene Owusu has noted that "to avert further catastrophe, it is imperative that humanitarians are able to act swiftly and robustly."
Given the increasing severity of the humanitarian crisis across Country, The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management (MHADM) and RRC, plans to collaborate with humanitarian agencies and other government institutions responsible for humanitarian intervention in the country to coordinate responses to deliver timely and effective assistance to affected population and to prevent further escalation of the crisis.