Returnees families station at a school in Manyo County. (Courtesy).

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) released on Monday shows more than 85 per cent of returnees fleeing Sudan will be acutely food insecure through the next lean season, starting April.

The UN agencies said the refugees and returnees will make up almost half of those facing catastrophic hunger, as they struggle to rebuild their lives amidst an unprecedented economic crisis and severe flooding.

“The emergence of the economic crisis and associated high food prices as a key driver of food insecurity sends a powerful message that it is time to collectively increase our investment in supporting South Sudanese to produce their own food,” said Meshack Malo, Country Representative of FAO in South Sudan.

“This will not only reduce the household food budget, but will also create more employment opportunities in the agriculture sector and increase household incomes so that they can seek more healthy diets.”

While returnees fleeing the Sudan war are expected to have the highest levels of food insecurity, many communities across South Sudan will continue to struggle as the economic crisis, extreme flooding, prolonged dry spells, and conflict continue to interrupt gains made, the statement said.

“Year after year we see hunger reaching some of the highest levels we’ve seen in South Sudan and when we look at the areas with the highest levels of food insecurity, it’s clear that a cocktail of despair – conflict and the climate crisis – are the main drivers,” said Mary-Ellen McGroarty, Country Director and Representative of WFP in South Sudan.

“To reach zero hunger in South Sudan, it’s vital that the root causes of hunger are addressed; communities need peace, they need stability, and they need opportunities to build or rebuild livelihoods and help them withstand future shocks.”

Meanwhile, almost 2.1 million children are at-risk of malnutrition, up from 1.65 million, according to the joint statement.

The agencies said children are returning to nutrition centers multiple times throughout the year as they continue to  suffer from poor access to safe drinking water and sanitation.

The UN agencies said illness is a major contributing factor to their malnutrition and almost half all children included in the data collected had been ill in the two weeks prior.

“Malnutrition is the end result of a series of crises, most notable for South Sudan is ongoing poor sanitation and prevalence of waterborne diseases, alongside severe food insecurity,” said Ms Hamida Lasseko, UNICEF Representative in South Sudan.

She added that UNICEF is deeply concerned that the number of  children and mothers at risk of malnutrition will continue to increase if efforts to prevent malnutrition by addressing its root causes are not scaled up.

The IPC also indicates that the impact of concurrent crises in South Sudan is far reaching with the overall number of people facing acute food insecurity projected to increase to almost 7.7 million (57 percent of the population) through the next lean season, up from 7.1 million this year.