Funding crisis puts food aid for South Sudan refugees at risk

WFP faces an immediate funding gap of $37 million for its refugee response and a wider shortfall of $258 million for the remainder of 2026, placing assistance for 4.2 million food-insecure people at risk.

Hundreds of thousands of refugees and asylum seekers in South Sudan could lose access to lifesaving food and nutrition assistance as severe funding shortages push humanitarian agencies closer to suspending support for families already struggling with hunger, displacement and rising living costs.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) have warned that more than 650,000 refugees and asylum seekers face further reductions in humanitarian assistance unless new funding is secured urgently.

Food and nutrition assistance for the remaining 240,000 most vulnerable refugees is expected to run only until September, potentially removing one of the few remaining sources of support available to families who have fled conflict and arrived in South Sudan with limited resources.

Refugee families already surviving on reduced rations

The funding shortage has already forced WFP to concentrate assistance on the most vulnerable refugee households, with those receiving support currently getting only half of a full food ration. Families are responding to shortages by eating smaller and fewer meals, borrowing money to buy food, selling their limited possessions and reducing spending on healthcare, education and shelter. Losing assistance completely could increase malnutrition while exposing women and children to greater risks of exploitation and abuse.

The situation is particularly difficult during the rainy season, when food supplies become scarcer, prices increase and flooded or damaged roads make it harder and more expensive for humanitarian organisations to reach communities.

WFP Deputy Country Director in South Sudan Adham Effendi said food assistance can determine whether refugee and host communities are able to cope or fall deeper into crisis, making immediate support essential for protecting both lives and livelihoods.

Millions face severe hunger across South Sudan

The refugee funding crisis is unfolding within a much larger hunger emergency, with more than 7.8 million people — over half of South Sudan's population — experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity and about 2.2 million children suffering from acute malnutrition.

WFP faces an immediate funding gap of $37 million for its refugee response and a wider shortfall of $258 million for the remainder of 2026, placing assistance for 4.2 million food-insecure people at risk.

UNHCR is experiencing similar financial pressure. The agency has received only 28% of the $286 million it requires this year to provide core protection and assistance to nearly four million refugees, internally displaced people, returnees and vulnerable members of host communities.

An interruption in assistance could also increase cross-border movement as desperate families search for food and other basic support elsewhere, potentially adding further pressure to a regional displacement crisis that is already affecting several countries.

Sudan conflict continues to drive new arrivals

South Sudan continues to receive people fleeing the war in neighbouring Sudan, with as many as 3,000 refugees and returnees crossing into the country each week in search of safety, food and shelter.

More than 1.4 million refugees and returnees have entered South Sudan since conflict erupted in Sudan in 2023, even as South Sudan deals with its own serious humanitarian and development challenges.

UNHCR Deputy Representative in South Sudan Mesfin Degefu said many new arrivals reach the country exhausted and hungry with few possessions, while refugees who have lived there for years have been working towards greater independence through education and livelihood opportunities.

Removing assistance could reverse some of that progress and leave households facing difficult choices, including travelling along dangerous routes in search of support.

UN agencies seek immediate international support

South Sudan has maintained an open-door policy towards refugees despite the enormous pressure that displacement, hunger and limited resources have placed on communities and humanitarian services.

UNHCR and WFP are now appealing for immediate and flexible international funding to prevent the suspension of critical assistance, arguing that delays could deepen hunger while increasing protection risks for people who have already been displaced by conflict.

The agencies are also concerned that losing food support could weaken efforts to help established refugee communities become more self-reliant, leaving them dependent on emergency assistance for even longer.

With the remaining food assistance for the most vulnerable refugees expected to last only through September, securing additional resources has become increasingly urgent as humanitarian agencies try to prevent an existing hunger and displacement emergency from deteriorating further.