Millions Face Growing Hunger in South Sudan Amid Budget Cuts and Competing Global Crisis
A mother is heeding her child with plumbee nuts at a health facility in Bentiu. B etween January and June 2022, CARE supported Health facilities have treated over 26,000 children . A staggering 63 percent of South Sudan’s population will struggle to survive the peak of this year’s annual ‘lean season’, with 87,000 people predicted to be in catastrophic food crisis category – at the risk of starvation and death - whilst humanitarian agencies are forced to cut services due to lack of funds. According to Benoit Munsch, CARE Managing Deputy Regional Director for Great Lakes, “South Sudan was recently flagged, in a UN WFP/FAO hunger hotspots report , as being on the brink of starvation. The needs and the number of people going hungry are rising, while food assistance programmes are being cut thus leaving huge gaps in humanitarian funding. The current funding gap stands at $529 Million.” Over 7.7 million people are classified in Crisis or worse in South Sudan, with some 3 million f