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The UN health agency insisted that the humanitarian, economic, social and political crises that began with brutal civil conflict in 2013 have been worsened by the recent influx of refugees from Sudan following the war between rival militaries there – with over 650,000 new arrivals since April 2023<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Right now, approaching six million people – or 46 per cent of the population \u2013 face crisis levels of food insecurity \u2013 a number that\u2019s expected to rise to around 7.1 million during the current lean season.<\/p>\n The WHO report also highlighted that the 2023-24 El Ni\u00f1o weather phenomenon – one of the strongest on record – brought dry conditions, erratic rainfall and significantly impacted harvests.<\/p>\n It also resulted in year-round flooding, which occurred in new previously unaffected areas.<\/p>\n Severe flooding, recurrent violence, weak governance, poverty and lack of infrastructure have created a complex humanitarian crisis which is hindering South Sudan\u2019s development, the UN health agency warned.<\/p>\n A staggering 8.9 million people mostly in flood and conflict-affected areas have been affected<\/strong>, with women, children, the elderly and people with disabilities at higher risk.<\/p>\n A pilot household\u00a0survey by The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) on Monday, further underscores the dire conditions, revealing alarming levels of suffering among both refugee and host communities.<\/p>\n The Forced Displacement Survey (FDS) was conducted between April and December 2023 and covered around 3,100 households in South Sudan.<\/p>\n It found that all communities face many challenges including limited services, high unemployment, no education, poor infrastructure and overcrowded shelters.<\/p>\n Food is a major issue with 74 per cent of both refugee and host community households experiencing hunger<\/strong> in the past month.<\/p>\nEl Ni\u00f1o and flooding<\/strong><\/h2>\n
UNHCR\u00b4s first-ever Forced Displacement Survey (FDS)<\/strong><\/h2>\n
74 per cent of households going hungry<\/strong><\/h2>\n