The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) on Thursday said it is scaling up its emergency response to reach the growing number of people forced to flee spiraling conflict in South Sudan’s Jonglei State.
A press release extended to Radio Tamazuj said these life-saving food distributions, transported along river routes, come amid increasing insecurity that is hampering humanitarian efforts and threatening to drive hunger in the region to unprecedented levels.
“This week, newly displaced families in several locations across Canal Pigi, northern Jonglei, are being registered to receive assistance as part of this response – some of them for the first time since the conflict began,” the statement said. “WFP plans to reach half a million people, who are teetering at the brink of catastrophic levels of hunger across Jonglei State.”
“Conflict and growing insecurity have displaced large populations in a state where approximately 60 percent of the population – 1.2 million people – are already acutely food insecure,” it added.
According to WFP, the recent escalation of fighting has exacerbated the crisis – displacing 280,000 people and disrupting markets, agricultural activities, and basic services, leaving several communities with little or no access to food.
“These distributions are a significant milestone in our ongoing efforts to help those who have been caught in the crossfire of this fighting,” said Adham Effendi, WFP’s acting Country Director in South Sudan. “People in Jonglei were already struggling after severe flooding destroyed their homes and livelihoods; now they are forced to flee, risking their lives.”
“This is a critical turning point to expand efforts, improve access, and ensure humanitarian assistance is urgently delivered where it’s needed the most,” he added.
WFP says safe humanitarian access to vulnerable communities across several parts of the country has become difficult due to conflict.
“Earlier this week, a private contractor working with WFP who coordinated essential humanitarian airdrops was tragically killed by an unknown gunman in Nasir, Upper Nile State. The incident remains under investigation by the authorities,” the statement reads. “Meanwhile, WFP has temporarily suspended all activities in the county until further notice. Additionally, flights to multiple destinations in northern Jonglei as well as road convoys had to be temporarily suspended.”
“The WFP-led Logistics Cluster – a system that moves cargo on behalf of the aid community – was unable to transport supplies, undermining the wider humanitarian response,” the statement added.
The statement said that while preparations are underway to resume road convoys into Jonglei, WFP and its partners will use the river corridors to provide food rations and nutrition support to both recently displaced people and host communities in areas where hunger is projected to reach critical levels in the coming months.
WFP says it urgently requires USD341 million to assist approximately 4.2 million people across South Sudan in 2026.