WFP secures $12.5M to bolster food security as hunger deepens in South Sudan

JUBA — The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has received $12.5 million in new funding to support food security and humanitarian operations in South Sudan at a time when hunger and malnutrition continue to worsen across the country.

The funding, provided by the government of Norway, will be used to deliver life-saving food and nutrition assistance to vulnerable communities, while also supporting services that underpin humanitarian access and operations nationwide.

WFP says the resources come at a critical moment as millions of South Sudanese face acute food shortages driven by conflict, climate shocks and economic instability.

WFP Country Director in South Sudan, Mary-Ellen McGroarty, said the contribution would help sustain essential common services that allow humanitarian agencies to operate effectively, particularly in hard-to-reach areas.

South Sudan is grappling with rising levels of food insecurity, with households struggling to recover from repeated flooding, displacement and high food prices.

According to WFP, the new funds will be directed toward boosting food production, strengthening community resilience and mitigating the impact of climatic, economic and conflict-related shocks.

Part of the funding will also support smallholder farmers and expand initiatives aimed at increasing local food production, including the Home-Grown School Feeding programme, which links schools to local agricultural markets while improving children’s access to regular meals.

Norway’s Ambassador to South Sudan, Roar Haugsdal, said the latest contribution brings Norway’s total support to WFP’s work in the country since 2020 to more than $29 million. He described Norway as a long-standing partner in efforts to combat hunger and support stability, though humanitarian actors stress that funding gaps remain significant amid growing needs.

The scale of the crisis is underscored by the most recent Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, which projects that about 7.56 million people—more than half of South Sudan’s population—will face acute food insecurity during the peak of the lean season between April and July 2026. The lean season, which falls between planting and harvesting, is typically marked by the lowest food availability and the highest levels of hunger.

The IPC report also warns of rising malnutrition, with an estimated 2.1 million children affected, alongside more than one million pregnant and breastfeeding women. Aid agencies caution that without sustained and predictable funding, life-saving assistance and longer-term resilience programmes could be scaled back, further exposing vulnerable communities to hunger.

WFP says the new funding will help maintain critical operations, but emphasizes that additional international support will be required to avert a deeper food crisis in the months ahead.