Highlights
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In 2016, WFP reached a record 4 million people with food and nutrition assistance in South Sudan – the highest number on record since South Sudan’s independence in 2011.
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In response to rising urban food insecurity, WFP and World Vision launched an urban poor cash response in Juba through which 42,000 people will receive cash based transfers and skills training.
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WFP and UNICEF continue to implement joint nutrition programming as part of the third year joint response strategy. In 2016, nutrition services were provided jointly in 176 locations.
Operational Updates
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In 2016, WFP provided food assistance to four million people in South Sudan – the highest number of people in one year since South Sudan’s independence. Within this, 600,000 people received fortified nutritious foods for the prevention and treatment of acute malnutrition. Total food deliveries amounted to 265,000 metric tonnes (mt) – 56,000mt more than 2015. In addition, WFP disbursed USD 13.8 million in cash based transfers.
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WFP and World Vision registered 6,455 households for participation in the Juba urban poor cash response pilot. Through the pilot, 42,000 people will benefit from cash based transfers to help food insecure households meet their basic food needs. In the last week of January, the skills training component of the pilot commenced through which participants received basic nutrition education which will be followed by sessions on urban agriculture, entrepreneurship, and nutrition. The pilot project comes after an assessment conducted by WFP, UNICEF, FAO and the National Bureau of Statistics found that urban food insecurity in Juba has increased significantly with half of households reportedly food insecure.
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WFP mobile teams completed nine integrated rapid response mechanism missions (IRRM) in the Greater Upper Nile region. Teams provided emergency food assistance to 275,710 people, including fortified nutritious foods for 56,130 children under age five. In addition to 14 ongoing missions, IRRM teams will deploy to a further eight locations in the coming weeks through which 534,000 people will receive food and nutrition assistance.