Figure: FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva and WFP Executive Director David Beasley at the Rumbek milk processing plant in South Sudan.

FAO 24 May 2017, Juba, South Sudan - All parties to the conflict in South Sudan must cease violence and work together to ensure that food and other lifesaving support can reach people to end famine and severe hunger, the heads of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said yesterday.

FAO's José Graziano da Silva and WFP's David Beasley made their appeal during a visit to the former Unity State, one of the areas in South Sudan worst hit by the current hunger crisis.

Around 5.5 million people in South Sudan, or almost half the population, face severe hunger, not knowing where their next meal is coming from ahead of the lean season, which peaks in July. Of these around one million people are on the brink of famine.

Of those 5.5 million, more than 90,000 South Sudanese face starvation with famine declared in parts of former Unity State. This unprecedented situation reflects the impact of ongoing strife, obstacles to delivering humanitarian assistance and declining agricultural production.

See more: http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/888811/icode/