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They face severe economic contractions, spikes in commodities prices, loss of livelihoods, increased protection risks and disrupted access to basic services.
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Tuesday warned that the number of people in South Sudan in need of aid has jumped from 7.5 million last year to 8.3 million.
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This country of 11 million people has been devastated by internal conflict, climate change, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Those in need include 310,000 refugees and asylum seekers.
"Conflict, insecurity, and natural disasters have displaced nearly 4 million people since 2013," OCHA said.
Hunger is growing, with more than 7.2 million people projected to be severely food insecure during 2021, it said in a release. Some communities face "catastrophic levels of food insecurity."
The already serious humanitarian situation has been compounded by severe flooding, affecting approximately 1 million people each year in 2019 and 2020.
#photooftheday: Every child has the potential to achieve great things
— WFP South Sudan (@WFP_SouthSudan) January 27, 2021
But for girls everywhere, that potential is sometimes cut short by discrimination and inequality.@WFP incorporates gender equality in all its programming across South Sudan#SSOT pic.twitter.com/JhGAwnArr3
The South Sudanese people also continue to be highly vulnerable to epidemic diseases, due to low immunization coverage, a weak health system, and poor hygiene and sanitation.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating and multi-faceted socio-economic impact on people.
OCHA recalled said that among the difficulties they face are severe economic contractions, spikes in commodities prices, loss of livelihoods, increased protection risks, and disrupted access to basic services.
Although South Sudan is rich in oil, it is among the poorer nations, ranking 157 out of 194 countries, according to the 2020 World Economic Outlook.
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