RESOURCES

IPC ALERT - SOUTH SUDAN: Rising Food Insecurity and Critical Malnutrition

As of April 2016, 4.3 million people were estimated to be in Crisis (IPC Phase 3), Emergency (IPC Phase 4) and Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5) and require urgent humanitarian assistance.

RESOURCE TYPE
Newsletters

DATE
Jun 2016

LOCATION
Eastern Africa South Sudan

As of April 2016, 4.3 million people were estimated to be in Crisis (IPC Phase 3), Emergency (IPC Phase 4) and Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5) and require urgent humanitarian assistance. This is a significant increase compared to the first quarter of 2016 (2.8 million people) and the same period last year (3.8 million).
In May-July 2016, the number of severely food insecure people is expected to increase further from 4.3 million to 4.8 million in line with seasonal vulnerabilities and the economic crisis.
As of April 2016, the highest proportions of populations in Crisis, Emergency and Catastrophe were recorded in Northern and Western Bahr el Ghazal (50%) and Unity (65%) States which is expected to go up by 10% in the projection period (May-July 2016) in both areas. The Greater Upper Nile remains structurally fragile and vulnerable as a result of the protracted conflict.
The most affected populations are Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and the poor households who are worst hit by the economic crisis, high market prices, as well as conflict related market and trade disruptions.
In April, rising food insecurity was mostly a result of the deepening economic crisis, insecurity, and depleted food stocks from insufficient household production. High levels of acute malnutrition were driven not only by high food insecurity but also sub-optimal child feeding practices and poor water, sanitation and hygiene. Despite the diminished intensity of the armed violence and increased humanitarian access in the most affected areas, the conflict spread to new areas that were previously stable, causing further displacement and damage to livelihoods.
In May-July, which coincides with the lean season, food and nutrition insecurity is expected to further deteriorate while access to services and delivery of supplies is hampered by the rain and poor infrastructure.