South Sudan facing major food and nutrition crisis

There are further concerns that many displaced people who have sought shelter along rivers will need to move again due to flood waters as the rainy season approaches, further undermining their food security and recovery of livelihoods. “Continued violence is obviously hampering the humanitarian response, but FAO will work with local partners on the ground to get vital supplies to vulnerable livestock owners, fishers, farmers and urban populations in the country,” Lautze said. FAO plans to assist a total of 545 000 households, by providing rapid emergency livelihood support in the most affected states in South Sudan while protecting food production in the less-affected areas.Four different emergency livelihood kits will be distributed: food crop seeds and basic tools, nutrient-dense vegetable seeds and basic tools, fishing kits, and community animal health worker kits.FAO will help vulnerable urban populations by promoting the use of nutrition vouchers to link them with milk, vegetable and fish producers, and providing support so that they can grow vegetables in any small plots of land available in towns and cities. In more stable regions, FAO plans to work with partners and the government to ensure quality seed for key food crops such as cereals, legumes, roots and tubers as well as vegetables is available at local level.To prevent the spread of livestock disease, FAO will equip and train community animal health workers to provide basic animal health support during migrations and help restore the cold chain for vaccine storage and distribution.Finally, FAO plans to minimize the environmental impact of improvised settlements, for example by introducing fuel-efficient stoves to reduce the use of firewood and charcoal.To date, FAO has received $4.25 million of the $77 million needed to implement the emergency response plan.As co-leads of the Food Security and Livelihood Cluster, FAO and the World Food Programme will continue to support the coordination of partners within and beyond the United Nations.