Nearly half of South Sudan’s population is now living in acute hunger, marking one of the darkest moments for the world’s youngest nation as international aid sinks to its lowest level ever, according to new findings from Oxfam.
The UK-based humanitarian organisation revealed that only 40 per cent of the US$1.6 billion humanitarian response plan for 2025 has been funded. As major Western donors continue slashing aid budgets, millions of South Sudanese are being pushed deeper into crisis.
Oxfam reports that nearly six million people currently face severe hunger, alongside limited access to clean water and basic sanitation. That number is expected to rise dramatically to 7.5 million by April if no urgent action is taken.
The crisis is not caused by lack of resources alone. Years of elite corruption, including the documented theft of oil revenues highlighted by the United Nations, have hollowed out the country’s institutions, leaving South Sudan with almost no functional basic services.
Oxfam’s South Sudan Country Director, Shabnam Baloch, expressed deep concern, saying,
“It is as though the world is turning its back on those who need help the most, at the very moment when their survival hangs in the balance.”
South Sudan, which celebrated its independence in 2011, soon descended into a brutal five-year civil war that displaced more than two million people. Today, fears grow of renewed conflict as the fragile peace agreement continues to deteriorate.
The country is also under immense pressure as it shelters hundreds of thousands of refugees escaping the devastating conflict in neighbouring Sudan. In the border town of Renk, up to 1,000 people arrive every single day seeking safety. Yet despite the overwhelming need, Oxfam announced that it must scale down operations by 70 per cent in the coming month, warning that all aid work may cease by February unless immediate funding arrives.
