WFP: “Super El Niño” Deepens Severe Hunger Crisis in South Sudan

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned of the worsening hunger crisis in South Sudan, which is growing increasingly severe amid ongoing violence, extreme weather events, and dwindling aid, leaving millions of people vulnerable to acute food shortages.

Matthew Hollingworth, WFP Assistant Executive Director for Programme Operations, stated during a press briefing in Geneva: “Conflict, displacement, economic hardship, climate shocks, and the situation in neighboring Sudan are combining to push millions deeper into vulnerability,” at a time when humanitarian resources are running out.

Reflecting on his recent visit to South Sudan last week, Hollingworth noted that approximately 7.8 million people—representing more than half of the country’s population—struggle daily to secure sufficient food, while 2.2 million children and 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women require urgent nutritional support.

He warned that an additional one million most vulnerable individuals risk losing access to life-saving food assistance by next October unless additional resources are secured.

The same source emphasized that the impact of a “super El Niño” phenomenon is already directly evident in South Sudan, where the most fertile agricultural regions have been affected, with crops damaged and yields reduced due to drought. Regional effects of extreme weather events are not confined to South Sudan, but extend to neighboring Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Kenya, leading to a “broader impact on food security across the entire region,” according to Hollingworth.

The El Niño phenomenon is a natural climate pattern that typically occurs every two to seven years when tropical Pacific waters in the central and eastern regions become warmer than usual, affecting rainfall patterns and temperatures across thousands of miles. This year’s El Niño is developing at a time when oceans are already experiencing exceptionally high temperatures.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres stated earlier this month that the phenomenon “is magnifying before our eyes.”