South Sudan faces looming famine as food aid stocks plunge amid refugee surge

The World Food Programme reports that food stocks at its Malakal hub in South Sudan’s Upper Nile have dropped from 10,000 metric tonnes a year ago to fewer than 300 tonnes, putting over one million vulnerable people at risk of losing assistance by October. Roughly 3,000 refugees and returnees cross from Sudan each week, arriving exhausted and with little money, while the war in Sudan drives up prices and complicates imports.

WFP assistant executive director Matthew Hollingworth highlighted an $86 million immediate funding gap and a $416 million shortfall over six months, as well as government checkpoints that impede aid delivery. Residents such as Peter Maker and Zainab Musa describe severe food insecurity, lack of farmland, and reliance on dwindling humanitarian rations. The International Organization for Migration warned that water, sanitation and flood-protection services are also at risk due to funding cuts. Without additional resources, the crisis could deepen, forcing refugees to consider returning to conflict zones.