South Sudan: 10 Facts About Hunger in South Sudan

20 March 2015 — SUMMARY: Here are ten key facts about the hunger crisis in South Sudan where WFP continues to provide food by any means possible to those in need.

1. More than 2 million people have fled their homes - to other places in South Sudan or to neighbouring countries - as a result of conflict that erupted in the world's youngest nation in December 2013.

2. A huge humanitarian effort helped stave off a famine in South Sudan in 2014 and WFP was a lead organisation in this effort. The agency dispatched 190,000 metric tonnes of food by air, river and road and assisted 2.5 million people in the country last year.

3. About 2.5 million people have started this year unsure of where their next meal is coming from, and WFP fears the situation will get worse with the start of the lean season in May.

4. WFP aims to assist some 3 million people in South Sudan this year, including lifesaving emergency assistance for the conflict-affected, nutrition support for mothers and children, food assistance for refugees, school meals, and asset-creation initiatives aimed at helping communities improve their food security and resilience.

5. South Sudan is one of the world's most challenging environments for humanitarian work, with almost half the country becoming inaccessible when heavy rains start in May.

6. WFP has a 3-month window to strategically pre-position more than 100,000 metric tons of food before the rains in places that would become inaccessible for at least six months. This represents more than 6,500 truck trips.

7. Conflict continues to threaten food security in the three most-affected states, where almost 80 percent of the population was unable to grow their staple crop (sorghum) in the last planting season.

8. Even before the current conflict, 50.6% of South Sudan's population lived below the poverty line.

9. Almost 11 million people live in South Sudan. Of those, 2.5 million people are unsure where their next meal will come from.

10. About 60% of South Sudan is inaccessible by road during the rainy season, complicating relief efforts by WFP and other agencies