Jan 04, Kathmandu- The World Food Programme (WFP) says it needs $404 million over the next six months to meet the immediate humanitarian needs of millions of people in South Sudan.

In its latest report released on Thursday evening, WFP said that the country has been facing a humanitarian crisis for a long time due to chronic food and nutrition insecurity. The report said the situation had been exacerbated by the ongoing conflict in Sudan, which had forced 892,000 people to flee South Sudan as of 30 November 2024.

The WFP warned, “The situation could get worse. An estimated 7.7 million people could face severe food insecurity by 2025.” Of the estimated 7.7 million people, 2.5 million could face emergency levels of food insecurity, according to the report.

WFP also noted that 2.1 million children and 1.1 million pregnant women are likely to suffer from acute malnutrition. In December 2024, WFP called on donors to fund pre-establish food supplies.

Since January 2024, WFP has assisted 4.2 million people. On 11 December 2024, WFP launched the South Sudan Resilience Strategy to support food insecure, conflict-affected and marginalized communities.