Belgian Contribution To WFP Supports People Affected By Hunger In South Sudan

“Belgium has provided a very timely contribution to our relief operations in a country where the needs keep growing,” said Joyce Luma, WFP Country Director in South Sudan. “This support has helped us scale up assistance to families facing acute hunger and maintain sustenance to conflict-affected communities.” 

The funds were used to purchase 1,562 metric tons of food, which has been distributed to more than 50,000 conflict-affected people in the states of Unity, Upper Nile and Jonglei as well as in the “Protection of Civilians” camps in Juba. The Belgian contribution allowed WFP to meet the basic food needs of people in these areas for two months.

“The humanitarian situation in South Sudan is appalling. More than half of the population is in need of humanitarian assistance, food insecurity is rising and a quarter of a million children are facing severe malnutrition,” said Alexander De Croo, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Development Cooperation of Belgium. “Belgium stands ready to help affected communities in South Sudan through its partnership with the WFP.” 

The food security and nutrition situation in South Sudan has progressively deteriorated since conflict erupted in 2013. Insecurity, displacement, an economic crisis, devaluation of the local currency and high food prices have compounded rising levels of hunger. In some areas, a massive humanitarian effort is the only thing helping to stave off a hunger catastrophe. 

In 2016, generous contributions to WFP from Belgium, Canada, the European Union, Finland, Germany, Japan, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, as well as several private donors, helped provide food and nutrition assistance to about 4 million people in South Sudan.

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WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. Each year, WFP assists some 80 million people in around 80 countries.

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For more information please contact (email address: firstname.lastname@wfp.org):

George Fominyen, WFP Juba: mobile +211 922 465 247