By hooks and crooks, the government has been trying its very best to eradicate hunger, but the effort goes futile. Every year, a fatal war is waged against hunger through prioritizing agriculture, but all in vain.
When the government sees that it is overwhelmed, it opens the door for international food assistance to help in eradicating hunger, but all in vain still. National and international NGOs have been formed with the mission of eradicating hunger, but all in vain still.
Individuals thought the war being waged against hunger by the government has some sorts of politics and come out to eradicate hunger themselves by cultivating large farms, but all still in vain.
Of all the neighbouring countries, Uganda has signed a trade agreement with itself to supply food items, whether or not they are expired, lack quality or have more aflatoxin, to make sure its neighbour South Sudan becomes hunger-free, but all in vain still.
No stone is left unturned to eradicate hunger in South Sudan, but it seems like nothing has been done completely. Hunger has found South Sudan as a sanctuary place, that is why it resists efforts to have it eradicated. War has come to an end, but hunger still claims lives. When is hunger going to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to sign an agreement?
A report has it that 7.8 million people are facing food shortage in South Sudan, with the saddest part of it being IDPs in one of the states feeding on shrub leaves. How long would people survive on shrub leaves? If the whole government plus the international community have their action resisted by hunger, then the only person to rely on is God. But when will God intervene to eradicate hunger?
The major promotor of hunger is conflict. When conflict intensifies, people flee to safer places and when they do so, they leave their original homes and belongings and become displaced. Once they flee, it is as if they are safe, but they are immediately received by hunger.
Looking at the government closely, it appears that the government is fighting a political fight against hunger. And any fight whose instructions are given in a political language does not succeed. The government prioritizes agriculture on yearly basis, but when the time comes, government officials go to work on their personal farms, call the media and tell the citizens to cultivate. Is that how the government prioritizes agriculture?
I think the best way the government should prioritise agriculture is to create large farms, cultivate them and when they are harvested, the government brings them to towns and sells them with a cheap price. If done so, this could be of great help to the hungry citizens of South Sudan.
No citizen will go to bed with a rattling stomach and thereafter, the whole South Sudan will delist itself from where it was ranked as the hungriest country. So, what is hard in doubling the effort to empower “Action Against Hunger” to eradicate hunger in South Sudan?
The author is a medical student, University of Juba.