66 pct of South Sudan population living in poverty: World Bank survey

Poverty levels in war-torn South Sudan have reached a new high with 66 percent of the population living in poverty, a World Bank survey launched on Tuesday reveals.

The survey, dubbed Adding Human Touch to Poverty Data in South Sudan, says a slump in oil prices coupled with renewed violence since July deprived South Sudan of its main source of foreign exchange, triggering a severe fiscal crisis.

"Securing livelihoods has become more and more difficult with 66 percent of the population now living in poverty, a new peak," Utz Pape, a senior economist and the lead researcher wrote in an article posted on the World Bank website.

He revealed the World Bank has started collecting short video testimonials from ordinary citizens to ascertain their daily struggles as economic hardships escalates in the country.

"All of this information drawn from a real-time dashboard is without doubt helpful for the government in making decision and also sheds light on the reality of market prices," he added.

More than two years of civil war have led to economic disruptions and skyrocketing cost of basic commodities.

The South Sudan Bureau of Statistics estimated in August that 51 percent of the country's population was living in poverty.

Since hostilities erupted in December 2013, oil production in South Sudan has reduced significantly, hence jeopardizing the country's ability to tame inflationary pressures.

A peace deal signed between South Sudan's rival leaders last August under UN pressure led to the formation of a unity government in April, but renewed fighting broke out in early July. Endit