OCHA Virtual Briefing on the Humanitarian Situation in South Sudan - Opening Remarks

OCHA Virtual Briefing on the Humanitarian Situation in South Sudan

Transcription of Dr. QU Dongyu, Director-General of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Thursday, 6 May 2021

Opening Remarks

 

Distinguished Participants, 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. Our meeting today reinforces our commitment to support vulnerable communities and address the pressing issues of food security and nutrition in South Sudan.

2. Indeed, the current food security situation in South Sudan is of great concern. 

3. The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification – or IPC – analysis projects that 7.2 million people will experience crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity during the ongoing lean season. 

4. Of these, an estimated 2.4 million people will be in Emergency or IPC Phase 4. 

5. What this means is that three out of every five people are unable to meet their daily food needs. 

6. They are experiencing an extremely severe situation, where livelihood assets are beginning to being stripped, acute malnutrition is rising and mortality rates are already in excess.

7. Concerted efforts are ongoing to save lives, prevent negative coping mechanisms and start laying the foundations of long-term resilience. 

8. But more needs to be done and at scale.   

9. The livelihoods of the majority of affected people are based on crop and vegetable production, livestock and fishing.

10. Scaling-up efforts now, with timely emergency assistance in the form of crop seeds, tools, livestock feed, vaccination programmes and fishing kits, can rapidly increase food production, while safeguarding sources of revenue. 

11. In recent years, we have been warning of a worrying trend of rising acute hunger.

12. The South Sudanese have seen their livelihoods eroded by multiple shocks, from conflict and violence, to climate extremes like floods, high food prices and the impacts of livestock diseases and plant pests. 

13. This has left them less and less able to cope with new shocks. 

14. In 2020, the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic aggravated an already critical situation. 

15. It is concerning to see that the pandemic has also had a significant impact on funding for critical humanitarian assistance to these vulnerable communities.

16. In 2021, FAO has, to date, received less than one-quarter of its requirements for emergency response in South Sudan.

17. But FAO is determined to stay and deliver, helping farmers get back on their feet.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

18. Where conflict and insecurity persist, acute food insecurity is rising. 

19. Conflict and insecurity are driving displacement, disrupting trade and the supply of food and agricultural inputs, and depriving them of access to natural resources, including water and land. 

20. Coordinated, sustained and at-scale humanitarian assistance is the only way we can avert a worst-case scenario and further deterioration in South Sudan. 

21. This needs to be complemented by significant investments in resilience building to ensure that people can cope with the next threat to their livelihoods and well-being. 

22. Working jointly to support the people of South Sudan in their work for efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agri-food systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life.

23. Thank you.