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STORY:
TRT: 4:42
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 11-15 APRIL 2023, BENTIU, NIMNI, SOUTH SUDAN
11 APRIL 2023, BENTIU
1. Various shots, four consecutive years of record flooding has led to widespread displacement, the destruction of livelihoods and the loss of arable land that has contributed to rising hunger
2. Wide shot, aerial, WFP Built Road Cuts Through Floodwaters. There are few roads in South Sudan but those that do exist are arteries of hope for families living in remote areas of the country, with WFP moving as much as 1,000 metric tons (mt) of food along these roads each day. WFP is in a race against time to preposition food ahead of the next rainy season when roads become impassable, but fighting in Sudan and attacks on humanitarian convoys are limiting access
15 APRIL 2023, BENTIU
3. Various shots, WFP run UNHAS flights are one of the few ways humanitarians and urgently needed supplies can reach cut off areas
11 APRIL 2023, BENTIU
4. Various shots, dikes, many built by WFP, hold back the waters from Bentiu where approx. 200,000 people displaced first by fighting and now by floods are staying
5. Various shots, Bentiu has been swallowed by Al Suud, the largest swamp in the world. Farms, grazing land, homes and entire villages have been submerged, livelihoods and food sources destroyed.
It’s been four years since floodwaters covered much of the northern part of the country. More than one million people were impacted by flooding in 2022. Most of the flooding has been driven by the outflow from the Great Lakes that feed into the White Nile. Beyond this, above-average rainfall and flooding in the Ethiopian highlands and western states of South Sudan has contributed to, and exacerbated, flooding in parts of the country that are not usually affected.
6. Various shots, submerged Former Police Station
7. Wide shot, redundant Water Pump
14 APRIL 2023, BENTIU
8. Various shots, live Stock grazing on the few patches of land left above the floods.
9. Various shots, kids fishing, former farmers and herders have now been forced to fish for food even though the fish cause diarrhea and other health problems.
10. Various shots, WFP dike building project. WFP pays people with food to build dikes around shallow flooded areas. The water is then drained to create temporary farming lands.
11. Various shots, WFP amphibious vehicles. In order to reach cut off communities that were once accessible by road, WFP uses amphibious vehicles that can carry small amounts of cargo and aid workers.
12 APRIL 2023, BENTIU
12. Various shots, flooded former school
13. Various shots, community that has congregated on higher ground near what was once Nimni.
12 APRIL 23, NIMNI
14. SOUNDBITE (Nuer), Peter Gatdoor, Community Chief:
“These are people with no income, no food for school children, no toilets and no clean drinking water for children. The water here is unclean. The rainy season is here and we do not have plastic sheets. All their houses are under water so, no one can stay there. We will be here on this dry island without shelter.”
15. Various shots, nutrition testing. Children being tested for malnutrition. If the band shows red it means the child is severely malnourished and should be hospitalized. Two-thirds of the population (7.76 million people) are facing hunger, including 43,000 people in Jonglei and Unity States facing famine-like conditions (IPC 5), struggling to access even the most basic food items. Only 4 percent of children in South Sudan have an acceptable diet in terms of quantity and quality and 1 in 6 (1.4 million) children are malnourished. There are 105,000 children at risk of dying if they don’t receive immediate treatment for malnutrition.
16. Various shots, Nyataba gets her children tested for malnutrition. Her son is severely malnourished
17. SOUNDBITE (NUER) Nyataba, mother of severely malnourished child:
“We used to farm and our children would drink milk. Now we harvest water lilies from the river. They make the children sick but they have no choice because they have no milk to drink.”
18. Various shots, WFP provides special fortified nutritional foods for treatment of malnutrition.
13 APRIL 2023, BENTIU
19. SOUNDBITE (English) Aachal Chand, WFP South Sudan Chief Nutritionist:
“The situation in this particular state is really bad. It has one of the highest malnutrition rates in all of South Sudan so, 1 in every 5 children is suffering from acute malnutrition here and the numbers here are as high as 200,000 children who are in need of treatment. Unfortunately, we only have the resources as the World Food Programme to feed 62,000 of the 200,000 that are in need.”
15 APRIL 2023, DINGDING
20. Various shots, collecting firewood for cooking is challenging and dangerous. People must travel great distances to find wood in the flooded landscape. Women run the added risk being raped and kidnapped.
13 APRIL 2023, BENTIU
21. Various shots, WFP Water Hyacinth Project. WFP has created a process to produce cooking fuel in the form of charcoal briquets from the Water Hyacinth that spreads like a weed in the flooded waters. WFP teaches and provides support to communities to produce charcoal so that they are less dependent on collecting firewood.
14 APRIL 2023, DINGDING
22. Various shots, WFP Food Convoy Arrives from Sudan. 33 Trucks carrying 1200metric tons of food arrive in Bentiu from Sudan. This is enough food to feed 16,000 people for 1 month. This was last convoy that made it from Sudan before the fighting stopped this route. With the rainy season coming, getting food to Bentiu will become a longer and more expensive process and with fewer resources, this will impact the number of people who WFP can help.
14 APRIL 2023, BENTIU
23. Various shots, WFP Food Distribution Bentiu
24. Various shots, people Bringing WFP food back to their communities by boat
15 APRIL 2023, BENTIU
25. Various shots, families in isolated communities cooking and eating
South Sudan is simultaneously drowning and drying as the climate crisis tightens its grip. A unique combination of catastrophic floods and devastating drought are driving hunger to unprecedented levels as access to food is pushed out of reach of families who were previously able to feed themselves.
Two-thirds of the population (7.76 million people) are facing crisis or worse levels of hunger. This is the highest number ever, surpassing that seen even at the height of the country’s civil war.
Four consecutive years of record flooding has led to widespread displacement, the destruction of livelihoods and the loss of arable land. In March and April, rainfall was 50% above longterm averages over the Lake Victoria basin, the source of the flooding, which means water levels are likely to rise later in 2023.
At the same time, the onset of the rainy season has been extremely delayed which will potentially affect crop later on in the year. In the southeast - two consecutive years of failed rainy seasons have contributed to an almost 20 percent increase in the number of critically food-insecure people in Kapoeta since December.
The effects of these concurrent climate shocks are compounded by rising food and fuel prices and ongoing conflict, putting basic meals out of reach of families who were previously able to feed themselves.
In a bleak milestone, more than 100,000 people have fled from Sudan to South Sudan since fighting broke out in mid-April. WFP is racing to provide humanitarian assistance to the new arrivals but this, combined with ongoing access and insecurity, is also creating a new challenge for WFP’s ability to respond to the lean season1.
Emergency food stocks are being depleted as WFP redirects resources to assist new arrivals crossing the border from Sudan. It’s vital these resources are replenished so WFP can continue to meet hunger needs in South Sudan.
At the same time, WFP has been contending with ongoing looting and insecurity that is jeopardizing operations. Most recently, there was a direct attack on WFP-contracted trucks outside the UN base in Bor where almost 7 metric tons of food was looted.
Each security incident forces WFP to pause movements and prepositioning meaning women, children, the elderly, and other vulnerable members of society may miss out on vital support later in the lean season if food assistance can’t be delivered in time.
The lean season varies by state the core of it is May-August with a few areas starting earlier or later.
In 2022 the international community came together and helped us almost halve the number of people facing famine in South Sudan2. While much of our work in the country is focused on keeping people alive, WFP is also working with conflict and climate-affected communities to implement long-term solutions to reduce hunger.
A recent study shows that every US$1 WFP and donors invest in resilience programmes and road building provide a US$1.50 return as entire communities benefit from income increases, better farming practices, and higher household expenditure.
In communities where we have been supporting the construction of shared assets, we have seen a reduction in conflict and more incentives for communities to have dialogue instead of resorting to violence.
School enrolment and attendance increased by almost 80% in conflict-affected areas once school feeding programmes were introduced – this is an enormous feat in a country where more than half of the children are currently out of school.
In areas affected by widespread flooding, WFP has been supporting families to grow flood-resistant crops like rice, increasing production of vital cereals and improving household food security.
Despite record levels of hunger in the country, funding levels for both humanitarian responses and resilience-building initiatives are not keeping pace with rising needs -- making it difficult for WFP to support the country’s most vulnerable people.
Investing in resilience initiatives provides more than a quick fix and enables communities to become self-sufficient instead of relying on humanitarian assistance year after year. Yet these programmes are WFP’s most underfunded in South Sudan.
The humanitarian response is also struggling. Funding constraints mean WFP can only provide half rations and must prioritise life-saving assistance for those closest to famine. Investing in humanitarian assistance early prevents a more costly response in the future.
WFP urgently needs an additional US$567 million over the next six months to keep lifesaving assistance going and to invest in long-term resilience building initiatives.
