Juba, February 6, 2015 (SSNA) — The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) has warned that South Sudan food insecurity is going to get worse by the end of next month unless something is done.
The warning comes as South Sudan’s civil war enters its second year.
The world body, UN, said that Upper Nile, Unity, and Jonglei states are the hard-hit areas, adding that lack of cultivation has also contributed to shortage of food productions.
“Missed crop cycles in conflict-ravaged parts of the country mean we’re now expecting household food stocks in the worst-affected counties to run out by March 2015 – much earlier than in a normal year,” Sue Lautze, the FAO Representative in South Sudan said in a statement.
Lautze suggests that continuation of humanitarian aid and investments in local economies could minimize the hunger, perhaps contribute to the recovery of the overall economy.
“We have to continue to invest on two tracks: one, provide humanitarian aid to prevent the most affected areas from sliding into greater crisis and, two, boost food production and local economies in the more stable areas, so they can support recovery in other parts of the country,” Lautze added.
The United Nations estimates 2.5 million people are already facing food shortage and another 3.9 million people have foods that could only last for months.