JUBA, March 11 (Xinhua) -- The World Food Programme (WFP) said Friday it faces a major funding shortfall of 526 million U.S. dollars for the next six months to help alleviate hunger crisis in South Sudan.
The WFP said in a statement issued in the capital, Juba, that the funding will cover its crisis response, resilience building and longer-term development programs in the country.
Adeyinka Badejo, WFP deputy country director in South Sudan warned that the extent and depth of the current hunger crisis in South Sudan is unsettling.
"We are seeing people across the country have exhausted all their available options to make ends meet and now they are left with nothing," Badejo said.
The WFP warned that more than 70 percent of the South Sudanese population will struggle to survive the peak of the lean season this year as the country grapples with unprecedented levels of food insecurity caused by conflict, climate shocks, COVID-19 and rising costs.
According to the latest findings published in the 2022 Humanitarian Needs Overview, while global attention remains fixated on Ukraine, a hidden hunger emergency is engulfing South Sudan with about 8.3 million people in South Sudan, including refugees, will face extreme hunger in the coming months as the 2022 lean season peaks, food becomes scarce and provisions are depleted.
"Particularly at risk are tens of thousands of South Sudanese who are already severely hungry following successive and continuous shocks and could starve without food assistance," the WFP said.
Badejo said WFP is working tirelessly not only to cater for these immediate needs, but also to support communities to restore their own resilience and be better prepared to face new shocks. ■
