Attachments
HIGHLIGHTS
• In March, WFP distributed 12,222 mt of food and USD 4.5 million in cash-based transfers to 1.15 million people, representing 63 percent of the people targeted during the month. Between January and March, WFP had assisted 1.5 million people.
• Recent hostilities near the Sudan-South Sudan border have driven 189,000 new arrivals into South Sudan since December, exacerbating the humanitarian situation at the reception and transit centres in Renk. Critical needs include water, health, nutrition, sanitation and hygiene.
• WFP faces a USD 379 million funding shortfall for the rest of 2025 against its operational plan. Needs include the food and nutrition requirements of crisis-affected people, food prepositioning before the rainy season intensifies in May, and other logistical support services.
SITUATION UPDATE
• South Sudan is facing a confluence of crises that continue to push the country towards new levels of vulnerability. The crises include violence and chronic food and nutrition insecurity, worsened by the severe economic downturn and climatic shocks. The ongoing Sudan conflict has compounded the situation by driving 1.1 million people into South Sudan.
• The security situation remains fragile, marked by armed clashes in multiple locations. The fighting between South Sudan People’s Defence Forces and armed youth in Nasir, Ulang and Longochuk counties in Upper Nile State displaced 84,000 people by 20 March, with violence spreading in neighbouring counties.
• About 9.3 million people require humanitarian assistance in 2025, an increase of 300,000 from 2024. Over 1.8 million people remain internally displaced due to years of violence and the impact of climate change, including floods and dry spells.
• Over 6.1 million people faced acute food insecurity levels, at Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) 3 or higher, between December 2024 and March 2025. The situation could worsen, with projections indicating that 7.7 million people face acute food insecurity during the 2025 lean season (April—July). Of the 7.7 million, 2.5 million people will face emergency or IPC 4 food insecurity levels, and 63,000 will face Catastrophe (IPC 5) food insecurity. Malnutrition rates continue to surge, with 3.2 million children and women at risk of malnutrition, representing a 28 per cent increase compared to 2024.
• The damage to the pipeline that carries 70 percent of South Sudan’s oil through Sudan has reduced oil exports, resulting in lower foreign exchange inflows, exchange rate depreciation and high inflation. Since April 2023, the South Sudanese Pound (SSP) has depreciated by 85 percent, from SSP 880 to SSP 5,950, by 23 March. The divergence between the parallel and reference rates increased to 33 percent, triggering the high cost of imported food items. The average monthly standard food basket cost has increased by 553 percent, from SSP 14,219 to SSP 92,906 percent since April 2023, exacerbating poor households’ vulnerability, including new arrivals.
• South Sudan has been grappling with a cholera outbreak since last October. The latest violence in Upper Nile has deepened the public health crisis, with fatality rates standing at 4.4 percent in Nasir County, exceeding the WHO threshold (1 percent). Since October, the country has reported 40,000 cases and 694 fatalities, including in counties hosting new arrivals.