Government needs to respond to starving people in Pibor to avoid more deaths

The report by renowned international charity Oxfam revealed that 12 people died recently in Greater Pibor Administrative Area due to hunger.

2016 was the year when famine was declared in some counties in the country but no death was reported due to starvation, meaning this is the first time death due to extreme hunger is being reported in official media.

This has been corroborated by people who have recently visited Pibor. They have spoken of a desperate situation in this area already trapped in a cycle of local conflicts.

The impact of climate change has adversely been felt in Pibor, and what is needed is for emergency humanitarian support to be dispatched to Pibor before more lives are lost.

South Sudan is one of the 18 hunger hotspots globally where food security is deteriorating, according to the early warnings issued by WFP and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations on acute food insecurity outlook from June to October.

In May, UN agencies already warned that more than 7 million people are likely to suffer high levels of food insecurity through July.

Therefore the government should have already prepared well for this emergency situation in order to avoid panicky responses.