Enter Search Term:

South Sudan

Hunger in South Sudan: ‘My baby cries throughout the night because I don’t have enough milk’

A complex balance between conflict and climate change has left South Sudan consistently ranking among the world’s hungriest countries.

Trócaire and CAFOD are on the ground in South Sudan providing assistance to families affected by climate change.  Photo: Achuoth Deng/Trócaire. Trócaire and CAFOD are on the ground in South Sudan providing assistance to families affected by climate change. Photo: Achuoth Deng/Trócaire.

In Yirol East, a rural county in South Sudan, living conditions are hard. The climate in the area is unforgiving with long droughts and extreme flooding, making growing food almost impossible. Hunger is rife. Today, almost 9 million people in South Sudan – 80 percent of the population – are food insecure.

Yom Deng (37), a mother-of-five from the Yirol East region of South Sudan, is struggling to feed her family as drought destroyed her crops. In order to survive, she forages for wild fruit and vegetables to feed her children but she is struggling to breastfeed her youngest son because she is not eating enough herself to produce milk.

Yom Deng with three of her children in South Sudan. Photo: Trócaire/Achuoth Deng Yom Deng with three of her children in South Sudan. Photo: Trócaire/Achuoth Deng

Yom, who is a farmer, had a poor harvest last year due to drought and the impact of climate change is being felt again this year.

“There is so much hunger,” Yom said. “We are farmers but there has been no rain. Our crops are dying. There is no food. After a long day of work in the farm, I go to the bushes to look for wild vegetables and fruit to feed my family.”

“My baby cries a lot throughout the night because he is not getting enough milk. I am hungry. The baby is hungry. He needs enough milk and I can’t produce enough milk if I am not eating well myself.”

Yom and her family are very worried about how the drought will continue to affect them.

“Lack of rain is a major problem. If it had rained, by this time we would have food from my garden. I am asking people to keep us in their prayers for rain to come, so that we can grow food on our own,” Yom said.

Extreme levels of hunger

A complex balance between conflict and climate change has left South Sudan consistently ranking among the world’s hungriest countries. After a famine in 2017, the country is now once again facing similar conditions due to renewed violence, the worst flooding in almost 60 years, and drought.

Hunger in South Sudan by the numbers:

  • 8.9 million people – 80 percent of the population are facing severe food insecurity
  • This represents the highest levels of food insecurity ever recorded in South Sudan and coincides with a doubling of food prices since the start of the year
  • 87,000 people are already experiencing famine-like conditions
  • As of July 2022, the total number of people displaced is over 4.5 million people – this includes 2.3 million refugees from South Sudan who have sought safety across the country’s borders
  • In 2022, there is already a 36 percent increase in admissions to the treatment of acute malnutrition programmes
  • One in 10 children does not live to the age of 5
Trócaire and CAFOD are on the ground in South Sudan providing assistance to families affected by climate change. Photo: Trócaire/Achuoth Deng Trócaire and CAFOD are on the ground in South Sudan providing assistance to families affected by climate change. Photo: Trócaire/Achuoth Deng

Trócaire and CAFOD are on the ground in South Sudan providing assistance through partner Caritas Diocese of Rumbek to families like Yom’s who are affected by climate change.

With funding from Irish Aid, Caritas Norway, UK Aid Match and the Climate Green Fund, some 30,000 people in the area have been supported with livelihood kits comprising of seeds and tools and emergency food aid.

Yom said she is hopeful that the seeds she received will help to feed her family.

“I have received emergency food, farming tools and seeds. If God blesses us with enough rain, then we can grow food,” she said.

Extreme flooding in South Sudan

Nyangei Kai and Thomas Riak are parents of four children in South Sudan. They were forced to flee their homes as the flood waters from the previous two rainy seasons did not recede. Photo: Achuoth Deng/Trócaire. Nyangei Kai and Thomas Riak are parents of four children in South Sudan. They were forced to flee their homes as the flood waters from the previous two rainy seasons did not recede. Photo: Achuoth Deng/Trócaire.

Farmers Nyangei Kai and Thomas Riak are also struggling to provide for their family due to another effect of climate change; extreme flooding in South Sudan.

Around 909,000 people have reportedly been affected by recent flooding in South Sudan as torrential rains ravage crops and destroy homes. The world’s newest nation is reeling from four consecutive years of flooding, with the disaster now affecting nine out of ten states.

Nyangei Kai and Thomas Riak were forced to flee their home when flood waters destroyed their crops and killed their animals. They are now internally displaced and moved to the Yirol East area where they are being supported by a host family.

“When the floods came, everything was submerged under water. I lost all my livelihood to the floods. All the food reserves that we had saved for years were destroyed. All the animals died and we had nothing to grow. The hunger kicked in, so we decided to flee here with my family,” Nyangei said.

Nyangei’s husband Thomas said that they have received a warm welcome by their host family, but worries that there is hunger in this region also.

“I feel safer here because I have received emergency food assistance and farm tools from Caritas. I have also been given a piece of land that I am using to grow food now. However, the area is affected by climate change,” Thomas said.

“Life is God’s gift. I hope for the rains so that we can grow our food. If it doesn’t rain, we will survive on wild vegetables. But I plead to the people of Ireland, my family is starving and we need food aid.”

Peter Mamer Alam, Programme Coordinator at Caritas Rumbek, said that food insecurity in the region is going to increase this year.

Peter Mamer Alam - Programme Coordinator, Caritas Rumbek, South Sudan. Photo: Achuoth Deng/Trócaire. Peter Mamer Alam - Programme Coordinator, Caritas Rumbek, South Sudan. Photo: Achuoth Deng/Trócaire.

“If people aren’t going to have a harvest in the next few months, people will starve because they will not have anything in their farms to feed their families. We are hoping that if everything goes well, and the rains start, people will cultivate other crops. But groundnuts and vegetable crops that were cultivated earlier, have been affected by the drought.”

Mr Alam said that climate change is the biggest driver of the food insecurity.

“The rain used to come earlier and people would start cultivating and the rain would continue. But due to global warming, it has caused some changes in the rain. We have seen droughts in some parts of South Sudan and extreme flooding in other parts. Local farmers can’t keep up with the changes and their food supplies are completely destroyed.”

Mr Alam added that donor support is making a difference in the region and that families are receiving emergency food supplies as well as tools and seeds.

“Please keep supporting these families. The support you are giving is really meaningful and it is helping them a lot. It is saving lives.”

Donate Now