Food consumption gaps widen as lean season progresses

Moving into the typical lean season period, broad areas of northern Greater Upper Nile will be in Emergency (IPC Phase 4), with households facing an increased risk for high levels of malnutrition and excess mortality. Some households in central Unity State are expected to be facing an extreme lack of food and are in Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5).

The shortage of foreign currency and consistent depreciation of the South Sudanese Pound continue to make importing food commodities difficult. In the face of restricted supply of foreign exchange and depreciation of the South Sudanese Pound, local food prices continue to increase, constraining household market access. The price of 3.5 kg of sorghum in Rumbek was 70-80 SSP in March, 300 percent higher than the pre-crisis price. 

Concern for urban food insecurity remains high where many households are completely dependent on markets to access food and are unable to supplement their consumption through farming or livestock rearing. However, income-earning opportunities remain significantly below average. Additionally, the South Sudanese Pound further depreciated from 21.6 SSP/USD in mid-March to 32.2 SSP/USD on April 1st, further reducing the purchasing capacity of urban households. 

On March 29th, the Sudanese Government again closed its border with South Sudan, after opening the border in January for the first time since 2011. The open border had prompted a large number of people from Northern Bahr el Ghazal to migrate to Sudan in search of income-earning opportunities and greater food access. Increased migration from Eastern Equatoria to Uganda and Kenya was also reported in March.