JUBA, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) said on Friday that it requires 397.4 million U.S. dollars to ramp up humanitarian assistance for the crisis-affected people in South Sudan until March 2025.
The WFP said the funding for the six-month operation includes 44 million dollars for the Sudan crisis response.
"The humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate due to multiple intersecting shocks amid a severe funding gap," the WFP said in its latest report on South Sudan.
According to the UN humanitarian agency, South Sudan, the world's youngest country, is facing a perfect storm of crises that continue to push the country toward new levels of humanitarian, economic, security, and political vulnerability.
It noted that the South Sudanese government is grappling with a long-standing humanitarian crisis marked by chronic food and nutrition insecurity, while the situation is exacerbated by the ongoing conflict in Sudan, which has forced hundreds of thousands to flee to South Sudan.
The WFP estimated that about 7.1 million people faced high levels of acute food insecurity in the April-July period, noting that the Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, which seeks to assist 6 million people with an appeal of 1.8 billion dollars, remains underfunded at 39 percent.
In addition, South Sudan is facing unprecedented floods, which could affect up to 3.3 million people between September and December.
The UN agency revealed that by Aug. 31, more than 700,000 people across 21 of South Sudan's 78 counties were affected, with the most affected states including Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Warrap, Western Bahr el Ghazal, Jonglei, Unity, Upper Nile, and Central Equatoria.
The WFP added that it is also working to ensure adequate nutrition commodities are prepositioned to support the planned flood response.
