UN Warns Over 7 Million Need Food Aid in South Sudan | Ratopati

Kathmandu. The United Nations has warned on Friday that more than 7 million people need food aid in conflict-torn South Sudan.

The United Nations World Food Program has condemned the situation in the world’s ‘youngest’ sovereign nation as ‘dangerous’ and said the organization is in a ‘tough struggle against time’ to scale up its response.

WFP’s ‘Country Director’ for South Sudan, Mutinta Chimuka, told journalists in Geneva via video link from Bor city in South Sudan’s Jonglei state, “We are talking about 7.2 million people who need immediate food assistance.”

“The situation is serious and requires immediate attention to save the lives of people who are in dire need of assistance,” she said in a statement.

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher warned last month that the East African country was at risk of full-blown famine and collapse.

South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 but fell into civil war shortly after and is still mired in extreme poverty, corruption, and insecurity.

A power-sharing deal between President Salva Kiir and his long-time rival Riek Machar, signed in 2018, has been faltering since last year.

WFP said it has scaled up emergency response, especially in Akobo, a recently conflict-affected area in Jonglei state.