JUBA, South Sudan — South Sudan, the world’s newest nation, which has recently been declared by one research institute the world’s most unstable, is currently headed toward famine. With the nation already in the midst a civil war and a resulting humanitarian crisis, it is feared that as a result of this conflict, famine in South Sudan may be around the corner.
A poor nation, only 69 percent of South Sudan’s households have access to clean water, with only 2 percent of households having clean water available on their property. School attendance is also rather abysmal, with only 29 percent of children attending primary school.
Formed from the ten southernmost states of Sudan in 2011, South Sudan achieved independence from Sudan following two separate conflicts, both carrying on for over a decade each. The first was from 1955 to 1972, and the second lasted for 22 years, from 1983 until 2005.
It was this second conflict that eventually achieved the desired goal of splitting with their northern neighbors. It was also in this second conflict that at least 1.5 million individuals are estimated to have lost their lives.
In 2005 however, the Comprehensive Peace Arrangement stopped the violence. In the arrangement, South Sudan gained much regional autonomy from Sudan, and was also guaranteed a referendum in 2011 to determine independence. In 2011, 99 percent of the voting population voted for independence. Thus in 2011, after decades of conflict, South Sudan finally became fully autonomous.
However, despite independence, conflict and instability still plague this nation. In 2013, only two years after independence was achieved, a political struggle between the President Salva Kiir and his ex-deputy Riek Machar resulted in a civil war.
With both of these two politicians being from two different ethnic groups (Kiir being a Dinka and Machar a Nuer) the violence between the two forces has taken on a visible ethnic dimension, and both government and rebel troops have been accused of killing civilians solely because of their ethnic identity.
As a result of this new civil war thousands have already died. Some estimate the number of deaths in the high 30,000’s. Others have estimated that 1.5 million people have been displaced by this conflict, causing roughly 400,000 to cross the borders into the neighboring states of Ethiopia, Sudan, Uganda and Kenya.
However, almost one million remain internally displaced inside South Sudan. Roughly 90,000 of these individuals are currently abiding in shelters in the bases of UN peacekeeping missions, now termed Protection of Civilian (PoC) sites.
Along with the growing numbers of deaths and refugees, another direct result of this conflict is that South Sudan is headed towards famine.
In South Sudan, there is a heavy reliance on subsistence agriculture. However, though over 90 percent of South Sudan’s land being arable, currently less than four percent is being farmed today due to this conflict. With farmers fleeing the fighting and in the process abandoning their fields and crops behind them, how they will be fed is becoming an increasingly important problem.
With 11 million people inhabiting South Sudan, it is estimated that 3.9 million people are currently reaching crisis levels of food insecurity during the summer of 2014.
Furthermore, according to the World Food Programme (WFP) almost one million children below the age of five will need acute malnutrition treatment as a result of this conflict.
The United Nation’s Children’s Fund (UNICEF) further estimates that as many as 50,000 children could die as a result of acute malnutrition.
It is because of this that on July 25 the UN Security Council described the food security situation in South Sudan as the “worst in the world.”
Despite these stark facts and predictions, assistance has not been forthcoming in the area. A famine has not yet been officially declared, and humanitarian aid attempts have been unsuccessful in their attempts to reach the areas afflicted.
A combination of inclement weather along with the fighting itself has impeded international assistance in the area. With the current rainy season and conflict compromising much of South Sudan’s road networks, aid into South Sudan has mostly had to rely on airlifts. However, due to the poor infrastructure and the equally poor condition of airstrips in the nation, the amount of aid that can be brought in via airlifts is insufficient for the amount of people that are in need of it.
So far only 1.9 million people have received humanitarian assistance out of the estimated 3.8 million which require it according to the UN Office for Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs.
The international community however, must not allow itself to be dissuaded by these difficulties, and must remain committed to finding solutions around these issues. As UNICEF director Anthony Lake said on South Sudan, “The world should not wait for a famine to be announced while children here are dying each and every day.”
Due to their split from Sudan in 2011, South Sudan now holds 75 percent of what used to be Sudan’s former oil reserves. This vast amount oil could be a massive boon to their economy and the key to jump-starting themselves on the path to future economic prosperity. This current conflict has stymied the production of oil in South Sudan, however, and for now, South Sudan’s future prosperity and development seem to have been put on an indefinite hold.
– Albert Cavallaro
Sources: BBC 1, BBC 2, IRIN News 1, IRIN News 2, IRIN News 3, IRIN News 4
Photo: This is Africa