WFP Airdrops Food Aid to Tens of Thousands in Conflict-Hit South Sudan

WFP Airdrops Food Aid to Tens of Thousands in Conflict-Hit South Sudan
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The World Food Programme (WFP) announced on Monday that it had airdropped food aid to tens of thousands of people in remote areas of South Sudan, where escalating conflict has pushed some communities close to famine, Arab News reported. The East African nation has experienced a sharp rise in violence since March, when tensions between President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar erupted into open hostilities.

This renewed conflict has raised fears of a return to full-scale war in South Sudan, the world’s youngest country, which endured a civil war from 2013 to 2018 that claimed around 400,000 lives. The WFP’s recent distributions represent its first access in over four months to deliver life-saving food and nutrition assistance to more than 40,000 people in Nasir and Ulang counties, areas only accessible by air.

More than one million people in Upper Nile state, which borders conflict-affected Sudan, face acute hunger, including over 32,000 experiencing “catastrophic” hunger levels—a number that has tripled since the conflict intensified, causing mass displacement. Fighting has also blocked main river routes, the most cost-effective means to deliver aid to Upper Nile and northern Jonglei states.

Across South Sudan, 7.7 million people—57 percent of the population—are facing crisis, emergency, or catastrophic hunger. Due to funding shortfalls, the WFP is prioritizing aid with reduced rations for the most vulnerable 2.5 million people and has appealed for $274 million to sustain operations through December.