The World Food Programme (WFP) halts operations, warning that ongoing clashes across five counties in Jonglei State have cut off vital aid deliveries, leaving more than 600,000 people facing severe hunger. WFP noted that active fighting continues to obstruct humanitarian access, reaching only 19 percent of its target in the region.
WFP halts operations over insecurity, looting in Jonglei
Tomson Phiri, WFP spokesperson in South Sudan, in a video posted on X, attributed the drastic shortfall to widespread insecurity. He also cited persistent looting, and the destruction of humanitarian compounds.
Phiri stated that aid workers are racing against the clock to utilise the shrinking prepositioning window before the rains begin. He warned that failing to move the current convoy of food and nutrition supplies within the next two months will result in road closures and severe breaks in the aid pipeline during the peak hunger season.
“Where access exists, WFP will continue to deliver assistance. But where fighting persists, aid ceases,” Phiri emphasised.
He called for an immediate cessation of hostilities, the protection of humanitarian assets, and secured river, road, and air corridors. This according to him, will enable aid workers to reach those in desperate need.
Separate convoy breaches South Kordofan blockade
A United Nations inter-agency convoy has successfully reached South Kordofan, delivering life-saving supplies to over 130,000 people. The mission, led by WFP, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), marks the first major aid delivery to the area in three months.
The convoy comprised 15 WFP trucks, seven UNICEF trucks, and four UNDP trucks transporting essential medical supplies. It also included food, nutrition, health, water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH), and education supplies.
WFP transported more than 700 metric tons of food commodities to support nearly 70,000 people. This includes 21,000 mothers and children who received specialised nutritious food to prevent malnutrition.
UNICEF’s cargo included lifesaving items expected to support 40,000 children and their families with critical nutrition, other supplies. UNDP delivered 70 metric tons of medical supplies from the Global Fund, alongside lifesaving medicines provided by the National Medical Supplies Fund.
Sheldon Yett, the UNICEF representative in Sudan, described the convoy’s arrival as a critical lifeline for children who have been deprived of aid for an extended period. He explained that the supplies will enable UNICEF and its partners to continue lifesaving interventions for children suffering from severe acute malnutrition.
According to Yett, reaching Dilling and Kadugli is a vital step toward ensuring the international community does not forget the children of South Kordofan. Intensified hostilities and insecurity along the main Al Obeid–Dilling-Kadugli route forced the convoy to halt for more than 40 days.
UN agencies stressed that sustained, predictable, and safe access remains urgently required. This is to prevent further deterioration of the humanitarian situation across South Kordofan.
The WFP had suspended all activities in Baliet County, South Sudan, after an aid convoy was repeatedly attacked and looted. The convoy was transporting over 1,500 metric tons of food and 100 cubic meters of non-food items.
Similarly, the Federal Government of Somalia has confirmed the full return of all WFP aid and commodities removed from a warehouse during port expansion activities in Mogadishu.