WFP warns more than one million people in South Sudan face loss of food and nutrition aid

WFP's figures indicate 7.8 million people — more than half of South Sudan's population — struggle to find food daily. Within that population, 2.2 million children require urgent nutritional support. Another 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding mothers are in need of specific nutrition assistance to prevent deterioration in child and maternal health.

Operational obstacles at a vulnerable moment The funding crisis coincides with the rainy season, when food becomes scarcer and prices rise. Flooded and impassable roads are making humanitarian access harder, which reduces the ability of agencies to reach remote and displaced communities. As access problems grow, the cost and logistical complexity of delivering aid increase.

Household coping strategies and consequences WFP's reporting lists concrete coping strategies families are using: eating smaller meals, selling household assets, and cutting spending on health, education and shelter. These actions reduce short-term hunger but increase long-term vulnerability, worsening malnutrition risk and reducing resilience to future shocks.

WFP framed food assistance as essential to avert a humanitarian catastrophe while also positioning aid as a bridge to recovery. The agency called on the government of South Sudan to begin mobilising domestic resources to support its population alongside international funding.

Conflict within South Sudan, ongoing displacement, climate-related shocks and the war in neighbouring Sudan are described as converging drivers pushing more people into acute vulnerability. The combination of these pressures increases the number of people needing assistance while simultaneously straining the capacity of humanitarian actors to respond.

If funding does not arrive, programs that supply food and targeted nutrition services for children and mothers could be reduced or halted, increasing the risk of wasting and other acute malnutrition outcomes. The timing, during seasonal shortages and reduced access, raises the chance that interruptions will have outsized health and protection impacts.

Watch for updated WFP funding appeals, donor commitments, and any changes in humanitarian access due to road and weather conditions. Also monitor government announcements about domestic funding measures and any shifts in displacement patterns triggered by regional conflict dynamics.