Experts say that in 2018, 90% of South Sudan’s population, including more than one million children, will suffer from food insecurity. Terre des hommes is distributing seeds in the besieged city of Yei to increase harvests, supply markets and promote trade.
According to IPC* projections, more than one million children will suffer from acute malnutrition in South Sudan in 2018. In the past two years, the front line has shifted south; farmers have been forced to flee and abandon the fertile areas of the country. Under pressure from conflict, food stocks have been depleted and the ongoing devaluation of the currency has caused agricultural commodity prices to soar.
“I'm very worried. It’s one crisis after another and the situation keeps getting worse. By the end of June, we expect that nine out of ten South Sudanese will be facing hunger. The growing season has just started. If nothing is planted now, we’ll be heading for disaster,” warns Martin Morand, humanitarian emergency expert at Terre des hommes.
We’ve distributed maize, pea and soya seeds to 4500 people in the besieged city of Yei and we’re replacing tools that have been lost or stolen. The region’s needs are still huge: “The situation is worse in the bush, where fierce fighting is taking place,” says Martin Morand. “We will be taking advantage of the ceasefire agreement to reach the most vulnerable families living outside Yei who haven’t received anything for more than a year.”
Discover our on-the-spot report
*Integrated food security phase classification