The World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, that it could halt food assistance to about two million people in South Sudan within weeks because of severe funding shortages.
WFP Assistant Executive Director Matthew Hollingworth said about 7.8 million people, roughly half of South Sudan’s population, struggle to obtain enough food each day. The agency currently supports about three million people, but this could fall to one million by the end of September without an urgent increase in funding.
The WFP says it needs $86 million immediately and $416 million over the next six months to maintain its humanitarian operations. Hollingworth said 2.2 million children and 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women also require urgent nutritional assistance, warning that more than one million vulnerable people could lose life-saving food and nutrition support by October 2026.
Food stocks are already dwindling. WFP warehouses in Malakal, which held about 10,000 tonnes of food a year ago, now have fewer than 300 tonnes.
South Sudan, which gained independence in 2011, has endured years of internal conflict and has also received more than one million refugees fleeing the war in neighbouring Sudan. Economic difficulties and climate-related pressures have further intensified the humanitarian crisis, with Hollingworth warning that the WFP is approaching a “financial cliff” at a time when humanitarian needs are at their highest levels in about 13 to 14 years.