JAKARTA - More than 650,000 refugees and asylum seekers in South Sudan risk losing access to food, nutrition, and other vital assistance due to a critical funding shortfall.
This leaves families who have fled war and hunger with nowhere else to turn, a warning delivered on Friday by the UNHCR (UN agency for refugees) and the UN World Food Programme (WFP).
The two UN agencies said in a joint statement that without immediate and urgent funding, the last food and nutrition assistance for 240,000 of the most vulnerable refugees across the country will only be able to be disbursed in September.
"For hundreds of thousands of refugee families, the impact of the cessation of this important assistance will be felt immediately and have long-term effects, including increased risks of malnutrition, exploitation, and violence against women and children. A matter of particular concern for UNHCR is the increased risk of cross-border movements as people seek food and assistance," the statement said, quoted from Anadolu (14/8).
The warning comes amid ongoing conflict in the region, which has forced residents to flee to neighboring countries in search of food, shelter, and safety.
In South Sudan, up to 3,000 refugees and returnees continue to arrive from Sudan every week, further straining already limited humanitarian resources.
"We are witnessing the devastating impact of the conflict that is forcing people to leave their homes, which is now colliding with severe resource shortages that are exacerbating this crisis," said WFP Deputy Director for South Sudan Adham Effendi.
"Urgent support to save lives and livelihoods is very important," added Effendi.
According to the statement, WFP faces an urgent funding gap of US$37 million for its refugee-handling program and a total funding gap of US$258 million for the rest of 2026, which threatens the sustainability of critical support for 4.2 million people in food insecurity across the country.
Meanwhile, UNHCR has only received 28 percent of the 286 million US dollars needed this year to maintain basic protection and assistance for nearly four million refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees, and vulnerable local communities.
"Every week, thousands of refugees and returnees continue to arrive from Sudan empty-handed; many of them are exhausted, hungry, and in dire need of protection and assistance," said UNHCR's Deputy Representative in South Sudan, Mesfin Degefu.
South Sudan continues to maintain an open-door policy for refugees even though the country itself faces significant humanitarian and development challenges.
More than 1.4 million refugees and returnees have entered South Sudan since the war broke out in Sudan in 2023.
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