Fighting between the national army and the opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement militia has intensified, particularly in Jonglei’s Akobo county, with civilians still bearing the brunt.
Around 140,000 people have been displaced there alone, while more than 300,000 have been uprooted in Jonglei and neighboring states since December last year, adding to the nearly two million internally displaced people.
At the same time, approximately 100,000 people have fled to neighboring Ethiopia for safety, and population movements remain fluid as thousands return home in recent weeks.
Shelters made of sticks
Many families return to find their homes destroyed or looted, forcing them to crowd into unfinished buildings and makeshift shelters made from sticks and plastic sheets.
Limited humanitarian access in several locations has deprived the most vulnerable of critical aid, further deepening the crisis.
Now that South Sudan’s rainy season is underway, the world’s youngest nation, which has faced repeated waves of conflict, displacement and climate crises since independence in 2011, is likely to face flooding, another layer of hardship.
Global meat supply quadruples in the last six decades
The global supply of food products of animal origin has increased significantly over the last six decades (mainly eggs, poultry and pork), according to a new study by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
The report found that poultry showed the steepest growth, about five-fold, followed by eggs and pork, both of which nearly doubled, while beef products remained stable or declined in many regions.
In 2022, global production reached 361 million tons of meat, up from around 71 million tons in 1961.
Milk production was 930 million tonnes, up from about 342 million tonnes, while egg production in the same period rose from 15 million tonnes to 94 million tonnes.
Loss and waste
The per capita supply of terrestrial animal products remains higher in North America, while in Asia – despite being the main producer – meat remains relatively difficult to obtain.
In sub-Saharan Africa, per capita supply has remained largely stagnant, with only limited gains in certain countries, such as milk in Kenya and poultry in South Africa.
Food loss and waste further exacerbate these disparities and present a growing challenge to sustainability.
An estimated one-third of all food produced globally never reaches the plate, including approximately 14 percent of animal-based food products. Losses are often related to inadequate cold chain infrastructure and poor temperature control.
The world’s poorest remain hungry as the ripple effects of the Middle East crisis continue
Three months after warning that the escalating crisis in the Middle East could push millions more people into hunger, a new analysis by the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) shows that the consequences of the conflict are already having profound and lasting effects in some of the world’s most vulnerable countries.
The new WFP report, focusing on three countries with different exposure to supply chain bottlenecks, found that another 2.5 million people in Somalia, 1.3 million in Sri Lanka and 2.3 million in Afghanistan are struggling to meet their basic food needs and, in some cases, being pushed into acute hunger.
“We warned that this crisis could push millions more people into hunger; now we are watching it happen in real time.” said Jean-Martin Bauer, Director of WFP’s Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Service.
It is expected to get worse
These impacts are expected to intensify in the coming months, even if the crisis in the Middle East subsides.
In many parts of the world, farmers are experiencing planting seasons with severe fertilizer shortages and high fuel prices. This is expected to have a devastating impact on crop yields and consequently food prices in the coming months.
The report also shows how the conflict in the Middle East, which forced WFP to suffer triple pressures: increasing needs, higher delivery costs and decreasing funding, all culminated in devastating consequences.
WFP estimates that it will now serve 1.5 million fewer people than originally planned in 2026.
However, if the conflict continues in the coming months, the WFP warned that more than 9 million people could lose assistance.