South Sudan’s aid crisis deepens as food stocks run low

What the report says

South Sudan’s humanitarian crisis is worsening as food stocks and aid funding continue to decline, according to Al Jazeera’s report from Renk and Malakal in Upper Nile state. The World Food Programme says more than one million vulnerable people could lose life-saving food and nutrition support by October unless new resources are found, while weekly arrivals from Sudan keep adding pressure to border communities and transit centres.

Al Jazeera reported that Renk has become a major entry point for people fleeing the war in Sudan, with about 3,000 refugees and returnees crossing each week. Many arrive hungry, exhausted and with few resources, but WFP-assisted rations are shrinking. In Malakal, one of the agency’s logistics hubs, food stocks have reportedly fallen sharply compared with last year. WFP official Matthew Hollingworth, who visited Renk, Malakal and Pigi county this month, said conflict, displacement, hunger, climate shocks and higher import costs are compounding the strain.

The report also said South Sudan already faces severe food insecurity nationwide, with WFP warning that 7.8 million people are experiencing high levels of acute food shortage and 2.2 million children are acutely malnourished. Humanitarian agencies, including UNHCR and IOM, have warned that funding gaps could force further cuts to food, water and sanitation support. The situation matters because the country is hosting large numbers of refugees and returnees while also coping with insecurity, flooding and weak public services.