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Reported By Eye Radio, South Sudan

Jan.19th 2022

Hundreds of families have fled their villages in Kapoeta East of Eastern Equatoria with others crossing into Ethiopia to escape extreme hunger in the area. This is according to Abdullah Lokeno, the County Commissioner.

Some photos shared with Eye Radio on Tuesday show women, elderly persons, children and their livestock arriving at Wokobu Payam of Kapoeta North County.

Lokeno also said unspecified number of his population have crossed into the neighboring Ethiopia in search for food and drinking water.

“I am appealing to the national and state government and all aid agencies to come quickly to rescue my communities here in Kapoeta East with food assistance because if it rains, it will be difficult for vehicles to reach areas where people are starving.”, Lokeno was speaking from the area on Tuesday.

When contacted by Eye Radio, the Commissioner of Kapoeta North confirmed the arrival of hunger-displaced persons in his County.

Epone Emmanuel Lolimo estimates that over 3,000 arrived in the country as of last week.

“Last week, we received 3,500 and they continue to come I am sure by now the number have increased”, Lolimo says.

Lolimo describe the condition of those fleeing as deplorable.

In November last year, Eastern Equatoria state Governor Louis Lobong Lojore warned of possible looming hunger in the state this year.

Lobong had called on humanitarian agencies to intervene to avert the situation.

In Eastern Equatoria, rainy season normally starts in April or May but last year, most parts of the state received little rain. 

Malaria is a problem is some parts of the county. In 2011, long lasting mosquito nets were being distributed to women and children under the age of five by Population Services International – Sudan. In the first quarter of 2011, 136 cases of guinea worm disease were reported from Kapoeta East out of 194 cases for all of South Sudan. The disease is caught by drinking stagnant contaminated water 

The Integrated food Security phase classification report of 2020 indicated acute food insecurity in the country with some counties categorized as phase five.

This has been attributed to a number of reasons such as conflict and natural disasters like floods and prolonged drought which has disrupted livelihoods of the local people.

South Sudan largely depends on imported food commodities from the neighboring countries, despite its huge potential in agriculture.

Most of the country’s land is arable but only 4% of it is cultivated, according to the official information from the Ministry of Agriculture.