Situation analysis
Description of the disaster
Based on Consolidated Findings from the IPC Technical Working Group and External Reviews this situation was set to worsen during the ongoing lean season of April-July 2021, with above figures expected to increase to 7.2 million (60 per cent of the population). Most affected states are Northern Bahr el Gazzal, Warrap and Jonglei, with overall 2 million people currently in emergency phase (IPC 4), while 108,000 people are already suffering from famine (IPC 5) in a few pockets. The six priority 1 locations with approximately 453,000 people in IPC 4 include:
-
Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA) in Jonglie State with and Akobo counties in Jonglei State,
-
Tonj North, Tonj South and Tonj East counties in Warrap State and
-
Aweil South county in Northern Bahr el Gazzal.
There is an urgent need for humanitarian organizations to scale-up operations across South Sudan, intensifying efforts for people in above six priority 1 counties. Indeed, the food security situation in South Sudan has reached unprecedented crisis levels. According to its Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) projections, an estimated 5.8 million people (48 per cent of the population) faced Crisis levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase 3). In March 2021, OCHA in Situation Report No. 5 already estimated that an overall 810,000 people were in Crisis or worse levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase 3+) across the entire country, according to IPC projections. This included over 300,000 children suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) and some 480,000 pregnant and lactating women who are acutely malnourished and in need of treatment.
The situation in the country is reported to be the highest levels of food insecurity since independence, 10 years ago. The worsening conditions are attributed to the prolonged flooding, ongoing violence, displacement and COVID-19 pandemic, the impact which has eroded the livelihoods and coping strategies of the vulnerable communities across the country. On 8 June 2021, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management (MHADM) requested support from South Sudan Red Cross, to provide food and water to affected populations in the six priority counties highlighted.