Alarming new food security data from South Sudan shows that 57 percent of the population will be acutely food insecure by the 2025 lean season. Three United Nations agencies warned on Monday that those fleeing war in Sudan, as well as young children, face some of the highest levels of hunger and malnutrition in South Sudan, as economic pressures, climate extremes and the effects of the conflict in Sudan drive a worsening hunger crisis.
The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis, released on Monday, shows that the influx of returnees and refugees fleeing the conflict in Sudan is exacerbating hunger and putting additional pressure on an already fragile country. More than 85 percent of South Sudanese returnees fleeing Sudan will be acutely food insecure by the next lean season, which begins in April.
In a joint statement, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said returnees will also make up nearly half of those facing catastrophic hunger as they struggle to rebuild their lives amid an unprecedented economic crisis, severe flooding and prioritization of resources as needs outstrip funding.
South Sudan is one of the countries most affected by the war in Sudan. More than 860,000 people, including some 652,000 returnees, have fled across the border into South Sudan since war broke out in the neighboring country more than nineteen months ago.
The IPC report also reveals that the impact of the simultaneous crises in South Sudan is far-reaching, with the total number of people facing acute food insecurity projected to rise to 7.69 million by the next lean season, up from 7.1 million earlier this year.
“The emergence of the economic crisis and associated high food prices as a key driver of food insecurity sends a powerful message that it is time to collectively increase our investment in supporting South Sudanese to produce their own food,” said Meshack Malo, FAO Country Representative in South Sudan.
“This will not only reduce the household food budget, but will also create more employment opportunities in the agriculture sector and increase household incomes so that they can seek more healthy diets.”
While returnees fleeing war in Sudan are expected to have the highest levels of food insecurity, many communities across South Sudan will continue to struggle as the economic crisis, extreme flooding, prolonged dry spells and conflict continue to disrupt gains made.
“Year after year we see hunger reaching some of the highest levels we’ve seen in South Sudan and when we look at the areas with the highest levels of food insecurity, it’s clear that a cocktail of despair – conflict and the climate crisis – are the main drivers,” said Mary-Ellen McGroarty, WFP Country Director in South Sudan.
“To reach zero hunger in South Sudan, it’s vital that the root causes of hunger are addressed; communities need peace, they need stability, and they need opportunities to build or rebuild livelihoods and help them withstand future shocks.”
Meanwhile, nearly 2.1 million children under the age of five are at risk of malnutrition, up from 1.65 million. The total includes 650,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM), who require urgent medical attention.
The UN agencies report that children return to the nutrition centers several times a year as they continue to suffer from poor access to safe drinking water and sanitation. Illness is a major contributor to their malnutrition, and nearly half of the children included in the data collected had been ill in the previous two weeks.
“Malnutrition is the end result of a series of crises, most notable for South Sudan is ongoing poor sanitation and prevalence of waterborne diseases, alongside severe food insecurity,” said Hamida Lasseko, UNICEF Representative in South Sudan.
“UNICEF is deeply concerned that the number of children and mothers at risk of malnutrition will continue to increase unless efforts to prevent malnutrition by addressing its root causes are scaled up, alongside the provision of immediate nutrition support to treat malnutrition among children who are at higher risk of death.”
According to the IPC, the acute food insecurity and malnutrition situation in South Sudan is worsening as a result of the economic crisis, repeated climatic shocks - particularly widespread flooding - and conflict and insecurity.
As of November 2024, an estimated 6.3 million people are classified as IPC Phase 3 or higher (Crisis or worse). Of this total, 1.71 million people face critical levels of acute food insecurity - classified as IPC Phase 4 (Emergency) - and an additional 41,000 people face catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity or IPC Phase 5 (Catastrophe).
South Sudan is one of only five countries and territories in the world that face catastrophic levels of hunger, according to IPC assessments. The others are Gaza, Sudan, Haiti and Mali. South Sudanese women, men, and children in Phase 5 (Catastrophe) include 10,000 people in Malakal County (Upper Nile State) and an estimated 31,000 South Sudanese returnees who fled Sudan because of the ongoing war.
While the total number of people projected to experience crisis levels of hunger or worse will decrease slightly to 6.1 million people during the harvest and post-harvest period from December 2024 to March 2025, the hunger situation is expected to deteriorate between April and July 2025, with an estimated 7.69 million people projected to be in Phase 3 or worse.
South Sudan is among the most vulnerable countries to climate change. Drought and flooding contribute to food insecurity. Consecutive years of record flooding have led to widespread displacement, loss of agricultural land, and destruction of livelihoods.
Severe flooding continues to plague the country in 2024. As of November, flooding has impacted approximately 1.4 million people in 44 of South Sudan's 78 counties and the Abyei Administrative Area. More than 379,000 people have been displaced by the floods.
As South Sudan faces a worsening humanitarian crisis, with three out of four of the country's 12.4 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, this year's humanitarian appeal to support some 6 million of the country's most vulnerable people is 60 percent funded, with nearly $1.1 billion of the $1.8 billion requested received.
Further information
Full text: SOUTH SUDAN: IPC Acute Food Insecurity and Malnutrition Snapshot, September 2024-July 2025, Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), report, released November 18, 2024
https://www.ipcinfo.org/fileadmin/user_upload/ipcinfo/docs/IPC_SouthSudan_Acute_Food_Insecurity_Malnutrition_Sept2024_July2025_Snapshot.pdf