South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Awan Achiek
The World Food Programme (WFP) launched aerial airdrop operations on Monday to provide essential food assistance to families experiencing severe food insecurity in Upper Nile State.
This operation marks WFP’s first access to remote regions in Upper Nile State after a gap of more than four months.
The life-saving food and nutrition will support over 40,000 individuals facing severe hunger in Nasir and Ulang counties, which have experienced violence since March.
This decision follows the restoration of calm in Nasir and Ulang by the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) after clashes between government troops and the White Army, which resulted in hundreds of deaths and the displacement of thousands in mid-March.
Mary-Ellen McGroarty, WFP Country Director in South Sudan, stated that many individuals in remote regions of the country have been pushed “to the brink of famine” due to an increase in conflict.
“The link between conflict and hunger is tragically clear in South Sudan, and we’ve seen this over the past few months in Upper Nile,” McGroarty said in a statement issued on Monday.
McGroarty warned that without a major scale-up in assistance, the counties of Nasir and Ulang risk slipping into full-blown famine.
“We urgently need to get food to these families, and we are doing everything possible to reach those who need it most before the situation spirals,” she added.
She stated that the WFP intends to reach 470,000 people in Upper Nile and Northern Jonglei through the lean season—the hungriest time of year, which runs through August—but noted that continued fighting and logistical constraints have hindered access and a comprehensive response.
She stressed the need to urgently reopen the main river routes to Upper Nile State in order to reach hungry families with sustained humanitarian support.
“Where we have been able to consistently deliver, we’ve seen real progress,” she said.
“In the first half of this year, we pushed back catastrophic hunger in areas of Jonglei State through regular deliveries of food assistance, and we can do the same in Upper Nile. But if we can’t get the food to people, hunger will deepen, and famine is a real and present threat.”
Fighting has blocked the main river routes, which are the most cost-effective way to reach large swathes of Upper Nile and Northern Jonglei State to deliver assistance, the UN agency added.
Across South Sudan, 7.7 million people, or 57 per cent of the population, face “crisis, emergency, or catastrophic” levels of hunger, it noted.
A funding shortfall has forced the WFP to prioritise assistance with reduced rations for only the most vulnerable 2.5 million people.
The agency has appealed for $274 million to continue life-saving operations through December.
