WFP South Sudan Situation Report #313, 30 May 2023

HIGHLIGHTS

• In May, WFP distributed 22,270 mt of food and USD 5.8 million in cash-based transfers (CBT) to 2.7 million people, representing 71 percent of the people targeted in May. Between January and May 2023, WFP assisted 4 million people.

• WFP requires 446,000 mt of food in 2023 under its need-based plan. By 31 May, WFP had resourced 219,953 mt of that food, representing 49 percent its needs-based plan.

• WFP faces a funding gap of USD 405 million between June and November 2023 and had reduced its targeted population from 7.7 million to 5.4 million, and continued to deprioritize IPC 3 counties, in a move likely to exacerbate food insecurity in the deprioritized counties.

SITUATION UPDATE

• The humanitarian situation in South Sudan continued to worsen, driven by compounding effects of years of conflict, sub-national violence, food insecurity, climate crisis, and public health challenges. Insecurity, fuelled by inter-communal violence and the ongoing Sudan conflict, continue to drive up humanitarian needs in South Sudan. The latest influx continued to compound a dire situation, forcing humanitarian partners to make difficult choices about addressing growing humanitarian needs with limited resources.

• Humanitarian partners in South Sudan estimate that more than 9.4 million people will require humanitarian assistance in 2023, representing 76 percent of South Sudan's population. The October-November 2022 Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) projected that 7.7 million will face severe acute food insecurity – at the Crisis level (IPC 3) or higher during the April-July 2023 lean season. Of the 7.7 million, 2.9 million people face Emergency (IPC 4) acute food insecurity, and 43,000 are in Catastrophe (IPC 5) acute food insecurity in Jonglei and Unity States. The rest, 4.8 million people, face Crisis (IPC 3) conditions. Further, 1.4 million children will be acutely surpassing the levels seen in the conflict in 2013 and 2016 and putting these children at much higher risk of medical problems and death if left untreated.

• The Sudan conflict had forced thousands to flee to South Sudan, exacerbating the humanitarian situation in South Sudan. By 31 May, 89,000 people had crossed into South Sudan. Of these, 93 percent were South Sudanese returning to communities already grappling with the effects of insecurity, climate change, food insecurity, limited services, and infrastructure.

• The South Sudanese Pound (SSP) to the US dollar exchange rate reached its lowest value, at SSP 955 and SSP 1,100 in the reference and parallel markets, respectively. In just a month, the reference exchange rate depreciated by 7 percent and 11 percent in the reference and informal markets, respectively. Over the past year, the SSP lost its purchasing power by 60 percent, affecting the purchasing power of market-dependent households, especially during the lean season, where the overall dependency on markets is highest.

• The Sudan conflict disrupted the flow of food commodities along the main border crossings, including Renk County of Upper Nile State, the Abyei Administrative Area, and Northern Bahr el Ghazal. Juba and Wau markets in Central Equatoria and Western Bahr el Ghazal States, respectively, had become a distribution hub for food items to markets in the northern parts of the country, contributing to the surge in food prices. Since the beginning of the Sudan crisis, the food prices in areas bordering Sudan had increased by 20 – 84 percent, further complicating the situation for thousands of vulnerable people living in these areas.