JUBA, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- The World Food Program (WFP) on Monday appealed to donors to provide funds to enable it to preposition 147,000 metric tonnes of food aid in South Sudan ahead of the rainy season when roads become impassable.
The WFP said that it faces a funding gap of 461 million dollars between December 2024 and May 2025 to support the urgent humanitarian needs of millions of crisis-affected people.
"South Sudan is facing a confluence of crises that continue to push millions of families towards new levels of vulnerability," the WFP said in its latest report on South Sudan.
The country continues to grapple with a long-standing humanitarian crisis marked by chronic food and nutrition insecurity, it said.
On Nov. 1, the WFP appealed for 404 million dollars to ramp up humanitarian operations in 2025 amid warning of rising hunger. It urged donors to provide early funding for next year's operations so that food can be prepositioned to prevent spiraling operational costs and hunger through 2025.
According to the WFP, the ongoing conflict in Sudan has compounded the situation by driving 854,000 people into South Sudan by Oct. 31.
"The country continues to grapple with an unprecedented economic meltdown, fuelled by the Sudan conflict that disrupted oil production and food supply, triggering nationwide inflation," the WFP said.
Between January and October, the South Sudanese pound depreciated by 65 percent and 74 percent in the reference and parallel markets, respectively, against the U.S. dollar, triggering a spike in the prices of food and nonfood items and exacerbating the vulnerability of poor households.
According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) released on Nov. 18, over 85 percent of returnees fleeing Sudan will be acutely food insecure through the next lean season, starting April 2025.
The returnees will also make up almost half of those facing catastrophic hunger, as they struggle to rebuild their lives amid an unprecedented economic crisis, severe flooding, and prioritization of resources as needs outpace funding.
The report said that more communities across South Sudan will continue to struggle as the economic crisis, extreme flooding, prolonged dry spells, and conflict continue to interrupt gains made. ■