UN warns of worsening hunger despite
relative stability in political situation after two-year civil war.


More than 5 million people in South
Sudan are facing a severe food shortage this summer, the UN has
warned.

This number is nearly double the 2.8
million people who were classed as being in crisis or emergency food
situations from January to March, with about 40,000 thought to be
suffering an outright famine.



The worsening hunger comes despite
attempts to end more than two years of war, which started in December
2013 when the president, Salva Kiir, sacked his first vice-president,
Riek Machar, triggering ethnically charged violence.

Some fighting continues, but
Kiir was able to name a new cabinet in late April, including
former rebels and members of the opposition, after Machar returned to
Juba and to his old job. “Internal food security analysis
shows that South Sudan will face the most severe lean season in 2016
since its independence, driven by insecurity, poor harvests, and
displacement in some areas of the country,” said a UN World Food
Programme (WFP) report published on Monday.



“As many as 5.3 million people may
face severe food insecurity, with particular areas of concern in the
non-conflict affected states of Northern Bahr el Ghazal and Eastern
Equatoria.”



During the 2015 lean season, which
runs from March to September, about 4.6 million people were classed
as severely “food insecure”, the WFP said previously.


The most severe conditions are in
Unity state, where a team of food security experts found a risk of
“widespread catastrophe” during a visit late last year.


The UN says 1.69 million South
Sudanese are displaced within the country and another 712,000 have
fled into neighbouring countries. 
The UN humanitarian plan for South
Sudan has received only 27% of the $1.29bn (£900m) needed.