‘Man-made’ famine declared in counties

KAMPALA: Famine has been declared in two counties of South Sudan, according to an announcement by the South Sudan government and three UN agencies, which says the calamity is the result of prolonged civil war and an entrenched economic crisis that has devastated the war-torn East African nation.

The official classification of famine highlights the human suffering caused by South Sudan’s three-year civil war and even as it is declared President Salva Kiir’s government is blocking food aid to some areas, according to UN officials.

More than 100,000 people in two counties of Unity state are experiencing famine and there are fears that the famine will spread as an additional 1 million South Sudanese are on the brink of starvation, said the announcement.

“Our worst fears have been realised,” said Serge Tissot, head of the Food and Agriculture Organisation in South Sudan. He said the war has disrupted the otherwise fertile country, causing civilians to rely on “whatever plants they can find and fish they can catch”.

Roughly 5.5 million people, or about 50% of South Sudan’s population, are expected to be severely food insecure and at risk of death in the coming months, said the report. It added that nearly three-quarters of all households in the country suffer from inadequate food.

If food aid does not reach children urgently “many of them will die”, said Jeremy Hopkins, head of the UN children’s agency in South Sudan.

Over 250,000 children are severely malnourished, Mr Hopkins said, meaning they are at risk of death.

Yesterday’s declaration of starvation is solely South Sudan’s creation, and a UN official blamed the country’s politicians for the humanitarian crisis.

“This famine is man-made,’’ said Joyce Luma, head of the World Food Programme in South Sudan. “There is only so much that humanitarian assistance can achieve in the absence of meaningful peace and security.”