The United Nations Children’s Fund warned Wednesday that 62 percent of the population in South Sudan will face food insecurity in the coming months.
The organization said 62.7 percent, or 7.74 million people, will face crisis or worsening levels of food insecurity between April and July, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification analysis.
The analysis says 1.34 million children under the age of five will be impacted by acute malnutrition due to food insecurity.
More than 80 percent of those who are food insecure in the country come from the states of Jonglei, Unity, Upper Nile, Lakes and Eastern Equatoria.
The condition has become worse due to floods, droughts, conflicts, economic downturn, displacement and disrupted livelihoods, according to the United Nations.
“FAO is concerned by the rising number of food-insecure people driven by the additional burden of heavy flooding that has occurred in the country for the last three consecutive years,” Meshack Malo, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) representative in South Sudan, said.
“To tackle acute hunger, we need to produce more food where it is needed most. FAO will continue to provide seeds, tools and fishing kits to people in urgent need of assistance. We also need increased investment to allow us to find innovative ways to help South Sudanese farmers adapt to climate change so they can grow enough food to meet their nutritional requirements,” added Malo.
Three UN agencies are calling for more funding in order to provide humanitarian aid to South Sudan.
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