South Sudan is once again on the brink of full-scale humanitarian catastrophe, propelled by conflict, attacks on civilians and humanitarian infrastructure, and political turmoil.
According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, more than half the population, 7.7 million people, are facing acute food insecurity, and at least 83,000 people are facing catastrophic conditions (IPC Phase 5). IPC 5, the most severe classification, is associated with “an extreme lack of food” where “starvation, death, destitution and extremely critical acute malnutrition levels are evident.”
In Upper Nile State, particularly Nasir and Ulang, the number of people facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity are so numerous and the restrictions on aid access so severe that these areas have been identified as at risk of Famine. Months of conflict, including government use of incendiary bombs has killed and injured hundreds, and forced tens of thousands more to flee. Hostilities have destroyed civilian infrastructure and livelihoods, while the government’s failure to facilitate humanitarian access has meant aid agencies have struggled to support an increasingly vulnerable civilian population. A hospital in Ulang, run by the medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), was looted by gunmen and eventually forced to close.
This is not just a humanitarian catastrophe: it is a human rights crisis. If parties are using starvation as a method of warfare, whether through deliberate action or criminal neglect, it is a war crime: one the UN has previously found to have been committed in South Sudan. It can trigger UN Security Council accountability mechanisms.
According to media reports, recent government aid drops on Nasir and Ulang were supported by a US based private firm in conjunction with a Ugandan aviation company that also supports the government’s military action. Delivery of aid is to be based solely upon need, nonpartisan and impartial. The use of companies with ties to the South Sudanese government raises concerns that these drops did not comply with this core humanitarian principle.
In neighboring Fangak, Jonglei state, to the east, fighting including government bombardment, has destroyed healthcare facilities and markets, bringing communities to the brink of a health and food emergency, according to aid group REACH.
As needs rise, donor funding is shrinking. Foreign aid cuts have had a devastating impact on South Sudan and are undoubtedly exacerbating an already overwhelming humanitarian situation. Save the Children, a leading humanitarian organization, recently announced that USAID cuts had forced it to close seven health clinics in Jonglei state.
The international community should act now. South Sudan’s donors and regional partners should fully fund the humanitarian response plan, demand safe, unrestricted access for aid groups, and pressure armed actors to end attacks on civilians and infrastructure. They should also sanction those who deliberately obstruct aid.
Famine can be averted. But without immediate and decisive political and humanitarian intervention, it risks becoming a reality for tens of thousands of people who are already enduring unimaginable suffering.