Yida refugee camp just south of the border has seen an influx of malnourished people due to renewed fighting
More than half the population of South Sudan are facing food shortages due to the continuing conflict with Sudan, the UN is warning.
It says fighting on the border between the two countries and the shutdown of oil production have had a devastating impact on the South's economy.
It adds there are fears the situation in the South, which gained independence from Sudan last July, is worsening.
Previous estimates suggest 4.7 million people are at risk of food shortages.
In this latest report, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) says a complex combination of factors has "raised fears that the South Sudanese are sliding into destitution".
Those factors include:
- clashes between north and south along the contested border regions
- inter-communal violence in Jonglei state
- the closure of oil production in a row over transit fees with Khartoum.
Citing research from the World Food Programme, the report says food shortfalls have continued to worsen in the first four months of 2012. It says at least one million people will be food insecure this year while a further 3.7 million people are borderline.
Refugee burdenIt says the country is looking at a deficit of cereal crops of nearly half a million tons - the worst in peacetime and more than twice last year's shortfall.
It also says that poor infrastructure makes the delivery of humanitarian aid extremely precarious.
The continued arrival of southern refugees who had been living in the north is also placing a further burden on this fragile new country, says the BBC's Richard Hamilton.
Earlier this month rebels from the former rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (PSALM)-North described the plight of the civilian population in Blue Nile state - just north of the border - as catastrophic and said that more than 200,000 people were in dire need of food.
Adding to the cataclysmic predictions, our correspondent says, a leaked briefing from the World Bank talked of South Sudan's economy as teetering on the brink of collapse - although it later retracted those remarks, saying they had been taken out of context.
Sudan: A country divided
Both Sudan and the South are reliant on their oil revenues, which account for 98% of South Sudan's budget. But the two countries cannot agree how to divide the oil wealth of the former united state. Some 75% of the oil lies in the South but all the pipelines run north. It is feared that disputes over oil could lead the two neighbours to return to war.
Although they were united for many years, the two Sudans were always very different. The great divide is visible even from space, as this Nasa satellite image shows. The northern states are a blanket of desert, broken only by the fertile Nile corridor. South Sudan is covered by green swathes of grassland, swamps and tropical forest.
Sudan's arid north is mainly home to Arabic-speaking Muslims. But in South Sudan there is no dominant culture. The Dinkas and the Nuers are the largest of more than 200 ethnic groups, each with its own languages and traditional beliefs, alongside Christianity and Islam.
The health inequalities in Sudan are illustrated by infant mortality rates. In South Sudan, one in 10 children die before their first birthday. Whereas in the more developed northern states, such as Gezira and White Nile, half of those children would be expected to survive.
The gulf in water resources between north and south is stark. In Khartoum, River Nile, and Gezira states, two-thirds of people have access to piped drinking water and pit latrines. In the south, boreholes and unprotected wells are the main drinking sources. More than 80% of southerners have no toilet facilities whatsoever.
Throughout the two Sudans, access to primary school education is strongly linked to household earnings. In the poorest parts of the south, less than 1% of children finish primary school. Whereas in the wealthier north, up to 50% of children complete primary level education.
Conflict and poverty are the main causes of food insecurity in both countries. The residents of war-affected Darfur and South Sudan are still greatly dependent on food aid. Far more than in northern states, which tend to be wealthier, more urbanised and less reliant on agriculture.
Newer articles:
- Will North and South Sudan resolve differences? - Christian Science Monitor - 16/05/2012 18:00
- Half Of South Sudan Facing Hunger Crisis: UN - International Business Times - 16/05/2012 15:41
- South Sudan: thousands displaced as fighting escalates - Reuters AlertNet - 16/05/2012 15:07
- South Sudan Senior Minister Visits Israel, Lauds Cooperation - Borglobe - 16/05/2012 10:52
- Ethiopia denies Anuak are fleeing violence into South Sudan - Sudan Tribune - 16/05/2012 07:31
Older news items
- South Sudan Senior Minister Visits Israel, Lauds Cooperation - Arutz Sheva - 16/05/2012 05:13
- South Sudan Seeks Zimbabwe Support Over Conflict With Khartoum - Voice of America - 15/05/2012 21:18
- Sudan-South Sudan Conflict: Border Marked By New Trench As Rains Approach - Huffington Post - 15/05/2012 20:53
- Paramende Inovhurwa Nhumwa dzeSouth Sudan Dzichitsvaga Rubatsiro - Voice of America - 15/05/2012 19:50
- South Sudan faces finance crunch - Financial Times - 15/05/2012 17:29
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