240,000 refugees in South Sudan face food aid cutoff by September, UN agencies warn

Food and nutrition assistance for 240,000 vulnerable refugees in South Sudan could run out in September unless humanitarian agencies receive urgent funding, the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) have warned.

In a joint statement on Friday, the UN agencies noted that the affected families are the last remaining refugees among more than 650,000 who had been receiving food support across the country. According to the agencies, funding shortages have left them struggling to maintain assistance for people already facing severe hardship.

“For refugees and host communities, food assistance is often the difference between coping and crisis. Urgent support to save lives and livelihoods is vital – to meet essential needs and reduce long-term dependence on humanitarian assistance,” said Adham Effendi, WFP Deputy Country Director in South Sudan.

Without that support, families already struggling to make ends meet could be forced to eat less, borrow money or sell what little they own. The strain could also expose women and children to greater risks of exploitation and abuse, while some refugees may be pushed to leave South Sudan in search of food and assistance.

The pressure is increasing as people continue to flee the war in neighbouring Sudan. Up to 3,000 refugees and returnees are arriving in South Sudan each week, according to the UN agencies, adding to the demands of an already strained humanitarian response.

More than 1.4 million refugees and returnees have crossed into South Sudan since war broke out in Sudan in 2023, placing further pressure on the country as it tries to respond to its own hunger crisis.

“Every week, thousands more refugees and returnees continue to arrive from Sudan with almost nothing, many exhausted, hungry and in urgent need of protection and assistance,” said Mesfin Degefu, UNHCR Deputy Representative in South Sudan.

“Cutting assistance now undermines hard-won progress in education, livelihoods and resilience and may force refugee families to make desperate choices, including moving onward along dangerous routes to survive.”

UNHCR and WFP are calling for immediate funding to prevent the loss of food and nutrition assistance and protect families facing hunger and displacement.

“We are seeing the devastating impact of conflicts that force people from their homes collide with a severe shortage of resources that is now making the crisis worse,” Effendi said.