Three United Nations agencies leading the response to a dire hunger and nutrition crisis in South Sudan today welcomed a US$50 million donation from the World Bank to address food insecurity and malnutrition in the country.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP) said the World Bank’s support, channeled through South Sudan’s Ministry of Agriculture, is vital to maintain the momentum of helping millions of men, women and children who would face starvation without sustained assistance.

Thanks to a massive emergency response, including large-scale food and nutrition assistance, famine conditions in South Sudan have abated. However, six million people still do not know where their next meal will come from. Across the country, more than 1.1 million children are estimated to suffer from malnutrition, with almost 290,000 severely malnourished in need of urgent humanitarian aid.

Source: Courtesy