Food Security & Livelihoods

Food security in South Sudan is likely to deteriorate to unprecedented levels, with thousands of people at risk of famine. At the height of the lean season in July 2017/2018, some 4.8 million people – more than one in every three people in South Sudan – were estimated to be severely food insecure. It is projected that more than five million people will be in urgent need of food security and livelihood support during the lean season in 2018. This includes some 302,800 refugees in South Sudan.  People affected by conflict and displaced households are facing alarming food consumption gaps. As the humanitarian crisis has deepened and expanded, food insecurity has risen to unprecedented levels due to a combination of conflict, insecurity, low cereal production, severe economic crisis, and the exhaustion of coping capacities in the last five years of the crisis. These multiple and interlocking threats have caused a decline in purchasing power, reduced trade flows, decreased agricultural production and expanding insecurity, making the food security situation highly precarious. Negative coping strategies have been adopted by most of the population, particularly reducing the number of meals consumed (89%), reducing adult consumption (74%), relying on wild food (70%) and spending a day without food (58%). 32% of Livelihoods have been decimated by the crisis. About 50% of all harvests have been lost in areas affected by violence, and many farmers have been unable to plant or harvest due to insecurity and restrictions on freedom of movement.