Three United
Nations agencies haveraised alarm thatestimated3.9 million South Sudanese now
face severe hunger, NaijaAgroNetreports.
These agencies
include Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), United Nations Children’s Fund
(UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP).
This was
revealed in a new Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis
made available to NaijaAgroNet, which although noted that the number of food
insecure households has decreased - as expected - during the harvest season, it
is almost 80 per cent higher than in the same period last year, as even people
living in states not directly affected by conflict with its long-term effects,
erratic rainfall, depleted livelihood options, high food prices, fuel costs and
inflation, equally experience the downturn in a generally degraded economic environment.
They called on
the parties to the conflict to grant urgent and unrestricted access to Unity
State, where a newly released Integrated Food Security Phase Classification
(IPC) analysis shows that at least 30 000 people are living in extreme conditions
and are facing starvation and death.
Since the war
in South Sudan began nearly two years ago, NaijaAgroNet
learnt,it is the first time that an IPC
analysis has found any parts of the population in phase five (catastrophe) on
the five-point IPC scale.
“This is
the start of the harvest and we should be seeing a significant improvement in
the food security situation across the country, but unfortunately this is not
the case in places like southern Unity State, where people are on the edge of a
catastrophe that can be prevented,” said WFP Country Director, ,Joyce Luma.
“The people of South Sudan need peace, nutritious food and other humanitarian
assistance and livelihood support to survive and rebuild their lives," she
stated.
NaijaAgroNet
gathered that unless
unrestricted humanitarian access is urgently granted, the food insecurity could
deteriorate to famine in parts of Unity State, where humanitarian assistance
has been hampered by the dreadful violence and lack of access in recent months.
Some displaced families say they survive on just one meal a day consisting of
only fish and water lilies.
Cyriacus
Nnaji/GEE
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