In 2011, South Sudan split away from unified Sudan and became an independent country. In 2013, President Salva Kiir accused his Vice President of planning a coup d'état against him and dismissed him from his role. While the cause for the civil strife remains uncertain, warring factions seem to be divided on the lines of ethnicity of the two leaders.
In South Sudan, 85 percent of the working population is self-employed, the overwhelming majority engaged in small scale farming. But the conflict has severely disrupted agricultural production, triggering a major food crisis nationwide and even famine in some areas.
As of March 2017, a United Nations Report accused the government of South Sudan of continuing to spend its oil revenue on the purchase of arms. However, the government of President Salva Kiir has displayed some sensitivity on the matter and ordered food trucks from neighbouring Uganda to Juba at the beginning of May.
The influx of subsidised food was supposed to help relieve pressure on prices, but the effect has been limited. Hunger has begun to wreak havoc in the northern state of Bahr el Ghazal as well, so far untouched by the civil strife that rages on the capital of Juba.
The so-called "hunger gap" is the period between a lean last season and the next harvest which, if the rains are good and security maintains, will only come in September. Until then people must survive on their meagre and fast-dwindling stores. The conflict has also hit South Sudan's oil production, its only source of foreign exchange, at the same time as global oil prices have tumbled, resulting in an inflation rate of 272.6%[1]
"Before the crisis of 2013 we were producing 240,000 barrels [of oil] per day. In 2014 up to the first half of 2015 we were producing 160,000 barrels per day. To my knowledge today we are below 130,000," said finance minister Stephen Dhieu in an interview.
At the moment[2], 9,515,000 of South Sudan's 12.34 million are experiencing food insecurity with varying degrees[3] of severity.
References
- ^ 272.6% (tradingeconomics.com)
- ^ At the moment (www.fao.org)
- ^ varying degrees (www.fao.org)
Newer articles:
- South Sudan's displaced millions fear more violence, see little chance of peace - 18/06/2017 06:02
- South Sudan's displaced see little chance of peace - 18/06/2017 03:28
- South Sudan: Will Local Concerns Sink the National Dialogue? - 17/06/2017 10:19
- Gen. Swaka explains source of S. Sudan conflict, appeals to Museveni - 16/06/2017 20:18
- S. Sudan's Juba airport, gateway to a country in crisis - 16/06/2017 04:44
Older news items
- Among South Sudan's refugees, thousands of stranded children - 16/06/2017 04:37
- Elections mark a fresh start for South Sudan football - 16/06/2017 04:16
- South Sudan nominees for EALA post revoked - 16/06/2017 01:04
- No food, no money: conflict and chaos as South Sudan grapples with famine - 15/06/2017 06:57
- Burden of trachoma in five counties of Eastern Equatoria state, South Sudan: Results from population-based surveys - 15/06/2017 02:14
Latest news items (all categories):
- The Collo Kingdom Remains Underdeveloped: Five Hundred Years Later! - 03/02/2025 12:57
- Attack on South Sudan cattle camps kills 35 - 03/02/2025 12:46
- في صفقة مثيرة.. الإمارات تشتري نفط الجنوب في باطن الأرض لمدة 20 عامًا - 03/02/2025 12:42
- South Sudan: Can oil production save the economy? - 30/01/2025 19:27
- 20 oil workers and crew die in South Sudan plane crash - 30/01/2025 19:20
Random articles (all categories):
- South Sudan Bans Employment of Foreigners Amid Civil War: Reports - 14/10/2014 18:00
- South Sudan: UN Agency - Condemnation for attempted ambush on food convoy - 02/03/2022 08:46
- Sudan's government unlikely to score with football tournament - 25/06/2013 15:59
- Slow Going at South Sudan Peace Talks - 11/08/2015 18:24
- Enough Project - Congress members Urge Treasury Secretary Mnuchin to Target Kleptocratic Leaders Behind War and Famine in South Sudan - 09/05/2017 21:42
Popular articles:
- Who is the darkest person in the world, according to Guinness World Record? - 25/10/2022 02:34 - Read 68994 times
- No oil in troubled waters - 25/03/2014 15:02 - Read 22366 times
- School exam results in South Sudan show decline - 01/04/2012 17:58 - Read 21568 times
- Top 10 weakest currency exchange rates in Africa in 2023 - 19/07/2023 00:24 - Read 19271 times
- NDSU student from South Sudan receives scholarship - In-Forum - 29/09/2012 01:44 - Read 19214 times