AfricaHuman Rights

Aid agencies warn of South Sudan famine

369650_South-Sudan-famineAid agencies warn of a famine in war-torn South Sudan “within weeks” unless more funding for food aid is provided.

Britain’s Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), which is a coalition of 13 major aid agencies, including Oxfam, Tearfund, and Save the Children, warned on Thursday that, “If the conflict in South Sudan continues, and more aid cannot be delivered, then by August it is likely that some localized areas of South Sudan will slip into famine.”

DEC chief Saleh Saeed said there is a very real risk of famine in some areas across the country, warning that “millions of people are facing an extreme food crisis.”
He added that the DEC has less than half the money the coalition needs to help prevent the growing food crisis in the African country turning into a catastrophe. The United Nations (UN) also said it has around 40 percent of the cash it needs to provide aid, with a shortfall of over a billion dollars.

According to the UN’s definition, famine implies that 20 percent of households face extreme food shortages and 30 percent of the population suffers from acute malnutrition.

South Sudan plunged into violence in mid-December last year, when President Salva Kiir accused former Vice President Riek Machar of attempting a coup. Thousands have died and more than 1.5 million people have fled their homes since the conflict erupted, often pitting Kiir’s Dinka tribe against Machar’s Nuer community.

The fighting has reduced significantly since the latest ceasefire agreement was signed on June 10; but, the negotiations being held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia between the two factions have reportedly stalled.

Doctors Without Borders, a world-renowned aid agency, has declared the conflict in South Sudan to be one of the worst in the world.

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