UN Warns South Sudan Faces Possible Famine as Food Crisis Deepens

The facts

• 1The UN Emergency Relief Coordinator issued the famine warning on 18 April 2026, calling the situation in South Sudan one of the world's most serious food crises.
• 2South Sudan has experienced repeated cycles of civil conflict since it became the world's newest country in 2011, which has disrupted farming and displaced communities.
• 3Severe flooding in recent years has destroyed crops and forced families off their land, making it harder for people to grow or buy food.
• 4According to the UN World Food Programme, around 7.7 million people in South Sudan were already facing acute food insecurity entering 2026.
• 5A famine is officially declared only when three conditions are met: at least 20% of households face extreme food shortages, more than 30% of children are acutely malnourished, and two or more people per 10,000 die daily from hunger or disease.