South Sudan threatened by the worst African food crisis in decades
South Sudan is about to face the worst food crisis in African continent since 1980s due to the brutal five month conflict. The agricultural sector has seen slow recovery but because of the newly risen conflict there has been a severe setback. Over seven million people face hunger if the violence continues, according to Food and Agriculture Organization FAO. Over one million people are threatened by famine.
“The rainy season is about to start by June and before that all the sowing should be done. During the rainfalls 80 percent of the country becomes impassable: The roads cannot be used and even the air transport gets difficult to organize”, says Finn Church Aid’s Country Manager Oskari Rantala from Juba.
During the rainy season it will be almost impossible to distribute food aid. Until now the food shortage has been relieved by sharing food packages by helicopters but, unfortunately, the aid reaches only a fraction of the people needing assistance.