UN agencies warn of deepening food insecurity in South Sudan

The World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Tuesday warned that civil strife and unfavourable rains have further reduced crop production in South Sudan, aggravating the already severe food shortages, a UN spokesman told reporters here.

"The two agencies said that cereal prices have shot up nearly five-fold since early last year, making it increasingly difficult for people to get enough to eat," Farhan Haq, the deputy UN spokesman, said at a daily news briefing here.

Some 5.8 million people, or nearly half of the new African country's population, are unsure where their next meal will come from, while the rate of severe food insecurity has now reached 12 percent, double the rate of one year ago, he noted.

In a new joint report, the two UN agencies made a series of recommendations for immediate action to address hunger, strengthen domestic food production and reduce the food gap in 2016 and into next year.

The most urgent need is for an immediate improvement of security across the country, said the report.

Civil strife and unfavourable rains have further reduced crop production in South Sudan, contributing to a cereal deficit of 381,000 metric tons -- 53 percent greater than in 2015 -- and aggravating the already severe food shortages, the report said.

Cereal prices have shot up nearly five-fold since early last year, making it increasingly difficult for people to get enough to eat, it said.

The crisis in South Sudan is marked by alarming levels of hunger. "This report makes it clear that improving the food situation requires a peaceful resolution to the conflict," said WFP Country Director Joyce Luma, noting that South Sudan is facing a "deadly blend of conflict, economic hardship and poor rains," which together are worsening a hunger gap that might force more people to go hungry and increase malnutrition. Enditem