South Sudan: Food Assistance Fact Sheet - June 4, 2018

SITUATION

• After more than four years of civil conflict, South Sudan remains one of the most food-insecure countries in the world. The IPC Technical Working Group reported that 5.3 million people required food assistance in January, up 40 percent from the same time last year. The humanitarian community expects food security to deteriorate through at least July 2018, as widespread conflict continues to displace communities, disrupt livelihood activities and impede humanitarian access to vulnerable populations.

• In mid-May, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) reported that food security had deteriorated further in conflict-affected areas of Eastern Equatoria, Jonglei and Unity states. Conflict-related disruptions to emergency operations have exacerbated humanitarian conditions. A prolonged absence of assistance will likely result in Famine (IPC 5) levels of acute food insecurity, according to FEWS NET.* Relief groups are assessing food security conditions in these at-risk areas.

• Families in the Greater Bagarri area of Western Bahr el Ghazal State face Catastrophe (IPC 5) food insecurity after exhausting their food stocks and require life-saving emergency food assistance, FEWS NET warns.

*The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) is a standardized tool that aims to classify the severity and magnitude of food insecurity. The IPC scale, which is comparable across countries, ranges from Minimal (IPC 1) to Famine (IPC 5).

RESPONSE

• A sustained and unimpeded humanitarian response is critical to saving lives. Since the start of the conflict, the USAID’s Office of Food for Peace (FFP) and its partners—including the UN World Food Program (WFP) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF)—have responded to the needs of South Sudan’s most vulnerable and conflict-affected populations through emergency food and nutrition interventions. FFP-supported programs provide life-saving food assistance to 1.5 million people per month, on average.

• FFP also partners with Catholic Relief Services to provide families in Jonglei State with emergency food assistance, expand access to safe drinking water, and implement livelihoods interventions, including providing agricultural training for farming households.

• With FFP support, the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) helps food-insecure South Sudanese countrywide increase household food production with seed, fishing and tool kits. FAO also provides vulnerable families with food vouchers exchangeable at local markets, improving access to nutritious foods and supporting local economies.