UN warns of food insecurity in South Sudan due to conflict

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Monday warned of increased hunger and food insecurity due to conflict in the world's youngest country. FAO said it will require 61 million U.S. dollars to protect and rebuild food security and livelihoods of South Sudanese, warning that the violence is threatening to increase human suffering considerably. FAO Representative in South Sudan Sue Lautze said it's essential that security and stability return to South Sudan immediately so that displaced people can return to their homes, fields, herds and fishing grounds. "Timing is everything; there are fish in the rivers now, pastoralists are trying to protect their herds and the planting season for maize, groundnut and sorghum starts in March," Lautze added. The UN has appealed for 166 million dollars to be able to provide assistance to the displaced civilians through March. So far, an estimated 167,000 people of the 628,000 in need of aid have been reached. It is believed that at least 231,000 people have fled their homes since December 15 last year, OCHA confirmed, with nearly 43, 000 South Sudanese seeking refuge in neighboring countries, mainly Uganda. However, the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) warned that the number of people killed in the current round of fighting in the world's youngest country "must be much higher" than the 1,000 figure given earlier in the conflict, which erupted nearly a month ago and continues to grind on. "Under the United Nations' Crisis Response Plan, FAO and its partners in the Food Security and Livelihoods Cluster are seeking 61 million dollars for crucial food assistance and livelihoods activities," the UN food agency said. It hopes to provide seeds, livestock vaccines, fishing gear and other agricultural inputs, technologies and services to vulnerable rural and urban families whose food production and income activities are being disrupted by conflict and the displacement of people. Lautze said the month-long conflict is affecting major supply routes, displacing traders and leading to rising food and fuel prices, along with the breakdown of local markets which are crucial to rural farmers, fishers and livestock-dependent populations. FAO and its partners had recently made progress in partially controlling these diseases and reducing mortality through systematic vaccination, but we estimate that more than half of the country's capacity for vaccine storage and distribution has been lost and must urgently be restored," Lautze said. An estimated 78 percent of South Sudan's rural population relies on various aspects of agriculture for their livelihoods, including cropping, livestock, forestry, fisheries and agriculture- related wage labor.