Unprecedented level of food insecurity in South Sudan, UN agencies warn

[Little Tich]

Source: UNICEF

More than a third of the population in urgent need of food, agriculture and nutrition assistance amid risk of catastrophe in some parts of the country

JUBA, 29 June 2016 – Up to 4.8 million people in South Sudan – well over one-third of the population – will be facing severe food shortages over the coming months, and the risk of a hunger catastrophe continues to threaten parts of the country, three UN agencies warned today.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP) stressed that while the deteriorating situation coincides with an unusually long and harsh annual lean season, when families have depleted their food stocks and new harvests are not expected until August, the level of food insecurity this year is unprecedented.

According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) update released today by the government, the three agencies and other humanitarian partners, 4.8 million people are projected to be in need of urgent food, agriculture and nutrition assistance through July, up from 4.3 million in April. This is the highest level of hunger since the conflict in South Sudan began two-and-a-half years ago. This number does not include 350,000 residents of the UN Protection of Civilians areas or other camps for displaced people, who currently are entirely dependent on humanitarian assistance.

Read more: http://www.unicef.org/media/media_91776.html

[Matthew28]

1. How does the south Sudan fix this?

My opinion of course would be to focus the educational system on teaching how to plant and attempt to use what little wealth they have to buy the equipment needed to feed their population. A well fed population then could start increasing their gdp, which would allow them to do other things.

[Igel]

2. Hard to do.

1. Stop the fighting. We blame borders; it's about resources and ethnicity coupled with a few leaders' will to power. "Can't we all just get along?" No, not while you have something I want, esp. if it's something that I think is my due or rightfully mine, or if you think I'm crap while I think I deserve a lot of honor.

2. Stop the drought. Perhaps worse from global warming, but this area has had low population because drought-induced famine kept the population low. We've broken that population-reduction cycle so that now even in good years the country probably barely produces enough to feed the population. If it's not there yet, give it a few years. It's like a single parent with 6 kids to feed, you need hefty income to be considered prosperous.

3. Find an economy that doesn't perpetually devolve to the "not quite subsistence" level. They hoped that they'd be bailed out by oil so they could become a more prosperous failed petro-state. Now pretend that single parent from #2 is a high-school drop out. Even if s/he gets a windfall of $200k, poverty lurks at the door and that money's almost certainly soon gone and the family's situation may even be worse as a result.

4. Reduce the # of children from nearly 5 1/2 to something sustainable. See #2 (less population). This may have been a positive cultural value when subsistence was the goal (more hands = more food), when famine killed off offspring. Cultures produce values and customs because they're facilitate survival and are good in a utilitarian sense (and often elevate these customs to cultic status); they continue to hold onto those traits after they become harmful, sometimes long after they become harmful. But since they're truisms and cannot be questioned without being declared a heretic, they're not questioned except by heretics. Now that single parent from #2 is about to have another couple of kids, but still considers large families to be a positive cultural trait.

And that list of nearly impossible fixes is just for starters.

[FLPanhandle]

3. It's only going to get worse

Way too many people

[Aerows]

4. No offense

but how do you not know how to make a hoe or other farming tools? Our ancestors did it in the damn stone age.

Drought has nothing to do with being unable to fashion a stone tool, or use it.

War has plagued them - I realize that, and it is crippling to overcome that level of devastation, but damn. Simple tools like farming equipment should be pretty obvious.

It seems to me that there are just too many people on fallow land - but that doesn't mean nothing can grow there. China has rebuilt rice fields that feed millions on very small portions of land. Water collection towers are also available and inexpensive to make.

[Jitter65]

5. Starving people are easy prey for terrorism recruits.

It would seem to me that more effort needs to be put into feeding hungry people here and internationally. We in America waste enough food every day to feed a nation for a week.

Haves vs have nots? When everyone has at least the bare necessities we will all be better off.