Critical gaps in basic food needs continue for many in Greater Upper Nile
FEWS NET produces forward-looking food security analysis and IPC compatible mapping several times a year for 36 countries, including South Sudan. FEWS NET is a member of South Sudan’s multi-stakeholder IPC Technical Working Group and an active participant in national IPC analysis workshops in South Sudan. The map and classifications in this report use IPC standards and methods, but do not necessarily reflect a consensus view of the national IPC Technical Working Group, IPC partners, or the Government of the Republic of South Sudan. The next national IPC analysis is expected to convene in April 2016.
Key Messages
More than 2.3 million people have been displaced by the ongoing insecurity in South Sudan. Protracted conflict continues to severely limit food access and availability for many as livelihoods remain inaccessible, market functioning is severely disrupted, and the delivery of essential humanitarian assistance is restricted. According to the December 2015 IPC update, approximately 40,000 worst-affected households in central Unity State are expected to be facing an extreme lack of food and are in Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5).
Broader areas of Unity State are in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) and face an elevated risk for high levels of acute malnutrition and potentially elevated mortality. Following poor 2015/16 harvests and as food access becomes further restricted by high purchase prices and low incomes, northern Jonglei and parts of Upper Nile will also move to Emergency (IPC Phase 4) in the absence of continued and further humanitarian access as more households begin to experience larger gaps in their basic food needs.
Staple food prices remain very high across the country while available income for purchase remains well below average for many. The limited availability of foreign currency and continuing depreciation of the South Sudanese Pound are contributing to making importing food commodities difficult and keeping prices high. These economic conditions, which constrain household market access, are contributing to high levels of acute food insecurity for many outside of Greater Upper Nile, including among urban populations.