World Food Programme Fighting Hunger Worldwide

JUBA – In a significant move aimed at helping South Sudan strengthen its infrastructure and improve people’s livelihoods, the Government of the Netherlands will contribute more than US$21 million (€15 million) to the UN World Food Programme’s operation to rehabilitate hundreds of kilometres of roads.

WFP and its partners are celebrating World Food Day (16 October) by reaffirming their commitment to helping communities overcome hunger. In South Sudan, WFP has increased the emphasis on community-based activities to build resilience to shocks and promote longer-term food security.

“WFP is pulling out all the stops to keep providing desperately needed food to refugees in Upper Nile State. People in camps have told me how they arrived weak and hungry after weeks of trekking and foraging in the forest before crossing the border. Our food assistance has been a lifeline to more than 100,000 refugees in Maban County, but continuing that lifesaving support will require some extraordinary measures given the size of the refugee influx into an area with limited infrastructure.”  (WFP South Sudan Country Director Chris Nikoi)

JUBA -- The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) says that recent fighting at South Sudan's northern border is threatening to push more people of the region into hunger.

FAO-WFP report says poor harvests, price hikes, conflict and displacement worsen hunger

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has scaled up food assistance to reach 80,000 people affected by the recent escalation of inter-communal violence in Jonglei State, in the eastern part of South Sudan.

WFP Country Director Chris Nikoi: "A gathering storm of hunger is approaching South Sudan, caused by crop failure and market disruption. Food prices have already doubled or tripled in some areas, leaving hundreds of thousands of children vulnerable to malnutrition at a key developmental stage of their young lives.”

Construction of two new roads linking local farmers to markets has been inaugurated this week in Lakes State as part of a three-year partnership between the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the South Sudan Ministry of Transport to build a total of 500 km of feeder roads to help boost agriculture development in the newly independent country.

It is the height of the hunger season in Sudan and the violence that has engulfed South Kordofan is hindering WFP’s efforts to reach hundreds of thousands of people in need of food assistance. As the security situation in South Kordofan state deteriorates, I would like to echo the UN Secretary General’s deep concern about the escalation in the conflict.

ROME -- It is with profound sadness that the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today confirmed the death of one of its staff members in a fatal attack in Southern Sudan.