The Director of Operations and Advocacy, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Edem Wosornu, on Tuesday said South Sudan continues to face a severe humanitarian crisis driven by what can only be described as a ‘perfect storm’ of stressors.
She made the remarks while briefing the Security Council on the humanitarian situation in South Sudan on behalf of Joyce Msuya, Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.
Wosornu reported that South Sudan is indeed in the grips of a growing food insecurity crisis, a climate crisis and an economic crisis, all while suffering the impact of the conflict in Sudan and dwindling financial support for the humanitarian response.
“Without immediate action, things will only get even worse in the weeks and months ahead. As we speak, more than 9 million people, or 76 percent of South Sudan’s population, require humanitarian protection and assistance. Of them, 54 percent are children and 24 percent are women,” she stated. “A total of 7.1 million people are acutely food insecure, an increase of around 1.5 million people since last year. Additionally, 2.5 million children and women are at risk of acute malnutrition, a number projected to reach 2.7 million by December due to the impact of the crisis in Sudan.”
Wosornu added: “Mid-year projections by our food security experts suggest that flooding combined with conflict could result in pockets of famine between June 2024 and January 2025.”
According to the OCHA official, heavy rains since May, as well as the calculated release of water from Lake Victoria, have led to increased Nile River levels, with floods so far impacting up to 300,000 people.
“At the peak of the flood season, anticipated between September and October, flooding could impact up to 3.3 million people. This includes communities yet to recover from the devastating floods which occurred between 2019 and 2022, and which displaced more than 1 million people each year. The Flood Preparedness and Response Plan for June to December 2024, developed by the Government of South Sudan and humanitarian partners, seeks to assist 2.4 million people at an estimated cost of $264 million,” she said. “The Government of South Sudan has already committed $76 million – 28 percent of the total amount required – for immediate mitigation and preparedness actions. If the worst effects of the flooding are to be avoided and addressed, support from donors will be critical.”
Wosornu revealed that South Sudan’s humanitarian plight is also being exacerbated by a deepening economic crisis largely triggered by the cessation since February 2024 of most oil exports through Sudan, following the damage of the pipeline due to the conflict.
“Between January and July, the South Sudanese Pound (SSP) depreciated by more than 70 percent, drastically eroding the purchasing power of individuals and households, and making basic commodities unaffordable for many. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, annual inflation reached 97 percent in June, with unbalanced rises in the cost of staple food items like sorghum and wheat flour,” she reported. “This has caused families to reduce the number of meals taken in a day, with – as is often the case– women and girls bearing the brunt, eating least and last. Conditions are so desperate that some people are having to rely on wild vegetables and desert dates for sustenance.”
The official also revealed that the economic crisis, compounded by new fuel taxes introduced in February, also severely hampered humanitarian operations in April and May before an exemption was granted.
According to Wosornu, South Sudan is the country worst hit by the displacement crisis caused by the conflict in Sudan, after Chad.
“Almost 780,000 people have fled to South Sudan since the fighting began on 15 April 2023. More than 580,000 of them are South Sudanese returnees. Many are arriving in areas already deprioritized for assistance. They are often malnourished, in poor physical condition, and require immediate life-saving assistance,” she conveyed. “The majority are women and children, many of whom require specialized support from the effects of trauma and gender-based violence. The intensifying conflict in Darfur and eastern Sudan threatens to exacerbate the situation.”
According to Wosornu, despite the challenges in South Sudan, the humanitarian community continues to deliver assistance.
“In the first half of 2024, more than 2.6 million of the 6 million people targeted for support in the humanitarian response plan received some form of food, livelihood, or cash assistance. More than 820,000 people were provided with health care services. More than 200,000 people received protection services, such as psychosocial counseling and access to safe spaces for women and children. And almost 600,000 people had access to safe water supplies,” she informed. “In addition, since mid-April 2023, more than 210,000 returnees have received support to return to their homes or to relocate to other destinations of their choice.”
She however reported that the already desperate situation is being further compounded by humanitarian access constraints, most notably insecurity.
“As we prepare to mark World Humanitarian Day next week, it is worth reminding the Council that South Sudan remains one of the most dangerous places for humanitarians to operate,” the OCHA official asserted.
She said convoys carrying life-saving supplies were subjected to illegal taxation and looting.
Wosornu revealed that some service areas are now on the verge of failure, with the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH), and the Shelter and Non-Food Items pipelines projected to collapse this month.
“The failure of a safe water treatment stock pipeline will leave 1.2 million people without essential water, sanitation, and hygiene services ahead of the severe flooding that is predicted,” she warned and added: “Allocations from the OCHA-managed pooled funds have kept some essential frontline services afloat: $10 million has been released from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and $26 million from the South Sudan Humanitarian Fund. However, more donor support for the humanitarian response is desperately needed.”
The UN official however said that despite the bleak outlook in South Sudan, there is still a window of opportunity to act.
“Addressing the humanitarian situation in the country demands immediate, concerted and decisive action on multiple fronts” helping South Sudan to achieve political and economic stability; addressing and mitigating the impacts of the war in Sudan; taking advantage of the know-how and strong in-country humanitarian capacity to tackle food insecurity and help South Sudan prepare for severe flooding; and support a humanitarian response commensurate with the huge levels of need,” she recommended.
Wosornu warned that every delay costs lives and that the funding shortfalls are not just numbers; “they translate into supply lines empty of food, untreated malnutrition, and unmet needs for basic shelter and sanitation.”