![South Sudan's map featuring Greater Pibor Administrative Area (in red) [Photo via Wikipedia]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sudanspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Pibor.png?resize=850%2C650&ssl=1)
Hundreds more from the Murle community are on the brink of starvation, according to Dr. Manenji Mangundu, Oxfam South Sudan Country Director.
“The scenes of suffering are heart-wrenching. Thousands of people both young and old are hungry and children severely malnourished. Many people are going for days without anything to eat. Just this month alone, (July) more than 12 people died from starvation,” Mangundu said in a statement.
The majority of civilians, mostly women and children, have been surviving on wild vegetables and desert dates, he added.
Oxfam is seeking $15 million to scale up its operations and save lives of vulnerable children and women affected by conflict, floods, and diseases.
“Failing to respond when people are starving is a moral failing that must not continue. Without urgent assistance now we risk many more lives. Humanitarian assistance delayed is aid denied, donors must act now,” Mangundu said.
More than half the population – over 7 million people – are already facing extreme hunger, including nearly 79,000 people facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity, which is more than double that of last year.
Adau Nyok, a resident of Juba, described the soaring prices of basic food items such as wheat, sorghum, oil, and flour amid the weakening South Sudanese Pound.
“Three months ago, I used to buy 10kg of flour for 3500 SSP ($2). Now it costs me 15,000 SSP ($9.3 USD). Unfortunately, the prices keep rising and we can no longer afford it due to lack of access to cash,” Nyok said.
Rebecca Korok Nyarek, who lost her 15-year-old nephew to starvation, described the dire situation.
“I lost my nephew because of hunger. There is no food at home. People are starving, and when you go out to the bushes in search of food, sometimes you will get something small to eat, even wild fruits are no longer available because of the rains and that’s how we sleep at night,” Korok said.
