By Jacob Onuha Nelson
Over 600,000 children at risk following intensified fighting along the White Nile River in South Sudan’s Upper Nile state has severed humanitarian supply route.
United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have issued warning on the plight of those in need.
“Upper Nile state has some of the highest rates of malnutrition in South Sudan, with over 300,000 children affected by moderate or severe malnutrition in the past year’ the humanitarian agencies noted in a joint statement.
As the rainy season progresses and conflict continues to displace families, the spread of waterborne diseases and increased food insecurity is expected to contribute to a rise in the number of malnourished children,” the statement continued.
The organizations cautioned that without urgent access and resupply of vital assistance, WFP and UNICEF expect to exhaust nutrition supplies needed to treat moderate and severe cases of malnutrition by the end of May.
This depletion “will bring life-saving treatment programs across the state to a standstill, impacting tens of thousands of children undergoing treatment,” the statement read.
“In mid-April, barges carrying 1,000 metric tons of food and nutrition supplies bound for Upper Nile state were forced to return due to insecurity,” it added.
The statement added that almost 3,000 additional metric tons are on standby in Bor – a humanitarian cargo hub along the Nile River – ready for delivery as soon as conditions allow.
Mary-Ellen McGroarty, the WFP’s Representative and Country Director, emphasized that children are always the first to suffer during emergencies.
She highlighted Upper Nile as one of the most food-insecure regions in South Sudan with extremely high rates of malnutrition.
“Children are already the first to suffer during emergencies. If we can’t get nutrition supplies through, we are likely to see escalating malnutrition in areas already at breaking point,” McGroarty stressed.
“This is already one of the most food-insecure regions in South Sudan with extremely high rates of malnutrition. In these situations, every day makes a difference for a malnourished child in need of life-saving treatment,” she acknowledged.
The warning is further underscored by security concerns and the high value of nutrition supplies, which make it difficult for WFP and UNICEF to preposition stock in insecure areas.
This vulnerability leaves health facilities and warehouses increasingly susceptible to looting.
In Upper Nile, almost 2,000 cartons of life-saving nutrition supplies, amounting to around 26 metric tons, have been looted since the onset of the conflict, effectively “robbing around 1,900 children of their only chance of treatment and recovery.”
Obia Achieng, UNICEF’s OIC Representative, stated that the agencies have reluctantly taken the step of holding back supplies due to fears they will not reach the children who desperately need them.
“We have reluctantly taken the unprecedented step of holding back supplies for fear that they will not reach the children that so desperately need them, due to the ongoing fighting, looting and disruption of the river route,” Obia said.
“If this continues, we are in danger of simply running out of supplies in counties across the state by the end of May 2025, with potentially catastrophic results for the youngest, most vulnerable children,” Achieng added.
WFP and UNICEF warn that without an urgent, safe resumption of deliveries, children across Upper Nile will face the devastating consequences of interrupted treatment. This would reverse hard-won gains in the fight against malnutrition and put the lives of the youngest and most vulnerable at even greater risk.