EU extends extra €11.6 m for emergency food aid in S.Sudan

04 / 09 / 2021

By Marwa Nassar - -

The European Union (EU) decided to extend an additional contribution of €11.6 million to the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) to provide emergency food assistance to 3.9 million people at risk of famine in South Sudan this year.

The funding allows WFP to provide life-saving food assistance and nutrition support to millions of people in South Sudan and assist vulnerable families in a cost-efficient manner. Pregnant or breastfeeding women and children under five receive especially nutritious products to treat malnutrition or protect them against it.

“Families trying to survive in remote areas are already experiencing catastrophic hunger in South Sudan, with pockets of population facing famine-like conditions. Food insecurity in the country is now at its highest ever levels,” said Matthew Hollingworth, WFP’s Country Director in South Sudan. “The funds from the European Union have helped us ensure that no one is left behind.”

“Communities in South Sudan are facing a critical food shortage,” said Olivier Beucher, Head of the EU Humanitarian Aid Office in Juba. “We continue to support partners such as WFP in order to provide life-saving food assistance to the most vulnerable people suffering the effects of conflict, major flooding, and COVID-19.”

Ten years after the country declared independence, intensified sub-national violence, two consecutive years of unprecedented flooding and the economic impact of COVID-19 have pushed millions of people into severe food insecurity and poverty so they need assistance to survive. Sixty percent of the country’s entire population is suffering from increasing hunger, with hundreds of thousands on the brink of starvation. The current lean season is projected to be the worst ever in terms of severity.

This contribution is a top-up from the original allocation that the European Union designated for WFP’s operations in South Sudan in 2021, increasing the total amount from €6.8 million to €18.4 million.

The European Union is a long-standing partner of WFP in South Sudan, supporting both its emergency and development work. The EU, through humanitarian and development funding, has contributed €107 million to WFP’s operations in the country since 2017.