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FAO in the 2019 humanitarian appeal: South Sudan - Humanitarian Response Plan 2019

Countries
South Sudan
Sources
FAO
Publication date
Origin
View original

to assist
4.8 million people

FAO requires
USD 75 million

period
January – December 2019

Despite the recent peace agreement, extreme levels of acute food insecurity are expected to persist in areas of continued conflict and poor harvests, calling for immediate and unhindered food assistance and careful monitoring.

Years of conflict and significant economic deterioration have left South Sudan in the grip of serious food insecurity, with women and children the most vulnerable. Sustained, large-scale assistance to protect livelihoods and increase resilience to further shocks will be crucial to save lives, boost food production capacities and build self-sufficiency.

Objectives

FAO is working with partners in the Food Security and Livelihoods Cluster to:

• Enhance food availability for severely food-insecure households through food-based nutrition support.

• Strengthen the collection, analysis and coordination of food security, agriculture and livestock information.

Activities

The objectives and activities reflect FAO’s multi-year Emergency Livelihoods Response Plan.

Increase agricultural food production

crop and vegetable seeds | tools | fishing equipment | rapid response mechanism

Improve animal health

vaccination and treatment of livestock | training for animal health workers

Provide food and nutrition support

provision of food vouchers | training on hygienic food production preparation | establishment of community gardens linked to feeding centres

Coordinate food security and agriculture analysis

coordination of information sharing with partners | food security and nutrition analysis | seed security and crop assessments | market, rainfall and crop production monitoring | crop and livestock pest and disease monitoring

Strengthen absorptive capacity

increase local capacity and preparedness | strengthen partners’ ability to deliver and respond | training on basic agricultural skills | build nexus with FAO’s resilience programme

Impact on food security

In South Sudan, displacement, violence and underdevelopment have devastated livelihoods, marginalized women’s formal employment opportunities, and weakened families’ ability to cope. Extreme levels of food insecurity and high rates of malnutrition persist in many areas, driven by the protracted conflict and limited humanitarian access. By March 2019, the number of people in Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5) is expected to be nearly double the level of the same period in 2018. Annual cereal production dropped by 25 percent from 2014 to 2017, leaving nearly 500 000 metric tonnes of deficit for 2018. Farmers – most of whom are women – and their families have been displaced from their fertile lands and over 80 percent of the population currently lives below the absolute poverty line. The economic crisis has continued to affect market-dependent households, including farmers who are unable to meet all their food needs from their own production. Human, plant and livestock diseases, total loss of cattle for some and climatic shocks are expected to further impact livelihoods.

While the peace agreement is expected to offer new opportunities to improve assistance and reduce vulnerability, this will vary by location and population group. Thus immediate assistance will be required for returnees to ensure a rapid resettlement and integration back into the community. Progress will also take time to materialize, particularly as regards the economic situation, availability of basic services, and pressure on communities hosting displaced populations. Large-scale food assistance and ongoing nutrition services in many areas of the country have prevented the situation from spiraling into a graver crisis. It is crucial that this be scaled up to meet projected needs, ensure access to basic services and rebuild sustainable livelihoods