United Nations agencies warn that South Sudan continues to face a severe food and nutrition crisis which threatens to worsen unless urgent humanitarian action is mounted. According to the latest food security report, over half of South Sudan's population — around 7.56 million people — will experience crisis-level or worse hunger during the lean season from April to July 2026 while, in the coming months, tens of thousands are at risk of famine.
Furthermore, more than 2.1 million children under the age of five are currently experiencing acute malnutrition and urgently need nutrition services and treatment. Additionally, around 1.15 million pregnant and breastfeeding women in South Sudan are estimated to be malnourished.
In a joint statement on Tuesday, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the World Food Programme (WFP) stressed that urgent and sustained support, as well as unimpeded humanitarian access, are necessary to save lives and prevent an even greater humanitarian disaster.
Several factors contribute to the food crisis, including escalating conflict, widespread displacement, limited access, economic instability, climatic shocks, and the erosion of coping capacities. According to the statement, peace and the restoration of agri-food systems are essential to ending hunger in South Sudan.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report released Tuesday estimates that 5.97 million people in South Sudan currently face high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC 3 or worse), including around 1.3 million facing emergency conditions (IPC 4).
Concurrently, 28,000 people are classified in IPC Phase 5 (Catastrophe), including 17,000 in Luakpiny/Nasir (Upper Nile) and 11,000 in Fangak (Jonglei). The IPC report states that Luakpiny/Nasir County, particularly the southern part along the Sobat corridor, is of major concern as families there face a risk of famine in the coming months under a plausible worst-case scenario.
Between December 2025 and March 2026, during the harvest and post-harvest period, an estimated 5.86 million people are expected to face crisis or worse conditions, marking only a slight improvement.
But the situation is expected to worsen significantly during the lean season from April to July of next year, when 7.55 million people are projected to experience critical levels of food insecurity.
“The hunger we are witnessing in South Sudan partly stems from disrupted agricultural seasons and agri-food systems that are sufficient to meet the country’s food needs,” said Meshack Malo, FAO Representative in South Sudan.
“Achieving lasting peace and revitalizing agri-food systems are essential to ending hunger. When fields are cultivated and markets are restored, families will reclaim their dignity.”
Access to humanitarian aid remains a major challenge in many regions of the country. In numerous areas, insecurity, looting, poor roads, and flooding have isolated communities for extended periods, hindering the delivery of essential support and exacerbating their vulnerability.
“This is an alarming trajectory,” said Mary-Ellen McGroarty, WFP’s Country Director in South Sudan.
“The persistent hunger levels remain deeply troubling. In counties where peace has held, and actors have consistent access, as well as resources, people have taken the first steps towards recovery. While this progress is encouraging, it is crucial that we sustain the momentum to ensure lasting positive change across all affected communities.”
Noala Skinner, the UNICEF country representative, emphasized the importance of ensuring safe access to and continuity of lifesaving health and nutrition services in all affected areas.
“This analysis paints a very worrying picture, with persistent high levels of severe malnutrition for the youngest children. These children are not to blame for the factors that have caused displacement and closure of nutrition sites,” Skinner said.
The humanitarian agencies stressed the urgent need for unimpeded access in South Sudan and warned that time is running out. Immediate and sustained support is imperative to save lives, protect livelihoods, and prevent the situation from deteriorating into an even deeper humanitarian crisis.
South Sudan: One of the world's most severe humanitarian crises
Currently, facing one of its bleakest outlooks since gaining independence in 2011, South Sudan is experiencing one of the world's most severe humanitarian crises, with 9.3 million people in need of assistance. It is one of the world’s top five hunger hotspots, where people face extreme hunger, starvation, and death.
The humanitarian outlook remains alarming, with growing needs far outpacing the resources and capacity of aid agencies. South Sudan’s dire humanitarian crisis is fueled by armed conflict, mass displacement, food insecurity, climate-related shocks, recurrent disease outbreaks, and economic decline — collectively devastating millions of lives.
The fragile security environment, compounded by severe seasonal flooding, restricted humanitarian access, and bureaucratic impediments, has further deepened vulnerabilities and obstructed the delivery of life-saving aid.
Since March of this year, political instability and rising hostilities between armed groups have led to clashes in Upper Nile State and other regions. These clashes have resulted in deaths, injuries, and destruction of civilian infrastructure, forcing many displaced people suffering from disease and food insecurity to flee once more.
The scale of the armed clashes is unprecedented since the 2017 cessation of hostilities, and civilians are bearing the brunt of human rights violations and forced displacement. The escalating crisis has forced thousands of South Sudanese to abandon their homes; an estimated 300,000 have fled the country since the beginning of 2025 alone.
Of the more than 4.5 million South Sudanese who have been displaced, neighboring countries are hosting over 2.5 million refugees. In 2025 alone, 148,000 people arrived in Sudan, 50,000 in Ethiopia, 50,000 in Uganda, 30,000 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and 25,000 in Kenya.
South Sudan itself grapples with an internally displaced population of over 2 million, as well as an additional 1.2 million South Sudanese returnees and Sudanese fleeing the war in Sudan. Women are disproportionately affected, bearing the greatest burdens and facing the greatest risks of displacement.
The sharp deterioration of the country's political and security situation threatens to undermine the progress made thus far toward peace and plunge the country back into a state of war. Tensions have been heightened by internal government conflict, particularly between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and those aligned with Vice President Riek Machar.
The ongoing war in neighboring Sudan is fueling instability and exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan. Stretched thin already, humanitarian agencies are doing what they can to support the over 1.2 million refugees and returnees who have fled the conflict in Sudan since April 2023 and now reside in South Sudan.
Plummeting global funding exacerbates the already dire humanitarian situation by leaving people without essential aid and hindering aid agencies' ability to scale up emergency interventions, preposition supplies, and sustain operations. Despite growing needs, the 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) is only 31 percent funded to date. The plan requires US$1.7 billion to support nearly 5.4 million of the country's most vulnerable people.
South Sudan is also grappling with numerous public health crises exacerbated by limited immunization coverage and disrupted services, coupled with widespread displacement. Inadequate access to basic necessities, such as food, clean water, and healthcare, contributes to the near collapse of livelihoods.
Ongoing floods impact more than 1 million people
Furthermore, South Sudan is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change. It has experienced consecutive years of record flooding, resulting in widespread displacement, loss of agricultural land, and destruction of livelihoods. In 2024, severe flooding affected approximately 1.4 million people nationwide.
Flooding has continued to affect South Sudan in 2025, causing hundreds of thousands to flee their homes and resulting in widespread damage. By the end of October this year, flooding had affected over 1 million people in 29 counties across six states, with nearly 87 percent of those impacted being from Jonglei and Unity states. Nearly 355,000 people have been displaced in 18 counties, many of whom have moved to higher ground.
Widespread damage to homes, farmland, and critical infrastructure has been reported, further complicating humanitarian access. Schools and health facilities have been destroyed, resulting in the loss of essential supplies and preventing the resumption of education and health services. Crop fields have been inundated, devastating harvests. Meanwhile, livestock pasture has been washed away or remains waterlogged, further increasing food insecurity in affected areas.
Further information
Full text: South Sudan - IPC Acute Food Insecurity and Malnutrition Analysis, September 2025- July 2026, Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), report, published November 4, 2025
https://www.ipcinfo.org/fileadmin/user_upload/ipcinfo/docs/IPC_South_Sudan_Acute_Food_Insecurity_Malnutrition_Sep2025_July2026_Report.pdf