"South Sudan's Population Faces 'Severe Food Insecurity' Next Year"

The U.N.'s hunger monitoring system IPC warned on the 18th local time that 57 percent of South Sudan's population, or about 7.69 million people, will face severe food insecurity next year.

In a report released on the same day, the IPC said that the food security situation in South Sudan will worsen when the dry season comes from April to July next year, explaining that 2.53 million out of the five stages of the food crisis are in the fourth stage of "emergency" and 60,000 are in the highest stage of "disaster and famine."

It also predicted that 2.1 million children between 6 and 59 months of age will suffer severe acute malnutrition between July this year and June next year.

About 1.11 million pregnant women or women breastfeeding during the same period will also suffer from acute malnutrition, the IPC added.

"Food insecurity and malnutrition in South Sudan are deepening due to economic crises, repeated floods, and conflicts," the IPC said. "South Sudan, which is already vulnerable, is under more pressure as refugees flow from Sudan during a civil war."

South Sudan, which gained independence from Sudan in 2011, is suffering from chronic instability, violence, and economic downturns, as well as climate disasters such as drought and floods.