On Thursday (12 June), the United Nations issued a warning that parts of South Sudan’s Upper Nile region are on the brink of famine due to ongoing conflict between government forces and armed militias.
Eleven of the state’s thirteen counties are currently experiencing emergency-level hunger. An estimated 32,000 people are already experiencing “catastrophic” food shortages. Across South Sudan, around 57% of the population of 11.5 million is acutely food insecure. Conflict lies at the heart of the crisis. Fighting has destroyed homes, disrupted farming and markets, and blocked aid deliveries, particularly in Nasir County, which is a stronghold for anti-government militias.
The UN agencies behind the warning — the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) — say famine is likely unless humanitarian access is expanded immediately to deliver food to those in need.
