Millions Face Starvation , After U.N. Program Cuts Funding , to South Sudan .
'The Guardian' reports that the World
Food Program has suspended food aid
to 1.7 million people in South Sudan. .
The decision was reportedly driven by the war in Ukraine as the price of necessary staples has skyrocketed.
Originally, the U.N.'s emergency food assistance agency planned to deliver aid to over 6 million acutely food-insecure people in South Sudan.
The WFP said it will now have to
prioritize 4.5 million of the most vulnerable
in order to prevent them from dying of starvation.
It’s a drastic cut because it’s a third
of the total of people that we know
require food assistance, but we
had to do a kind of triage, if you will, Marwa Awad, WFP spokesperson, via 'The Guardian'.
We had to decide who to keep assisting
and who we can afford to suspend the
assistance from – not because they’re
not in need but because they can survive, Marwa Awad, WFP spokesperson, via 'The Guardian'.
The remaining 1.7 million people
will consequently be cut off
from support and aid. .
They are food insecure. And if aid
is not given to support them, they will
slide further down the scale of hunger
and reach starvation level, Marwa Awad, WFP spokesperson, via 'The Guardian'.
Included in the cuts are free school
meals for 178,000 of the crisis-plagued
country's poorest children.
According to the WFP, an extra
$426 million would be needed to provide
food assistance for the next six months.