South Sudan faces considerable humanitarian challenges. Despite significant progress since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005, decades of civil war have left South Sudan with some of the worst human development indicators in the world and government capacity to deliver basic services and protection remains low.
The scope of the humanitarian operation is huge. An assessment by WFP and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) found that nearly 5 million out of a population of some 9 million South Sudanese will struggle to provide food for themselves this year – of these, more than a million are estimated to be severely food insecure. The joint assessment warned that an escalation in conflict, rising food prices due to reduced trade flows and increased food demands from resettling returnees could threaten the fragile food security situation in the new country.
Given the context of this large-scale complex emergency, environment challenges and limited road infrastructure, WFP/UNHAS is a key player in enabling over 230 humanitarian actors to reach the needy in 58 remote locations across the country.
For more information, please contact:
Mr. Samson Mwangi , Chief Air Transport Officer, WFP/UNHAS South Sudan
Tel: +211 922 465 460 / +211 956 883 020