{"id":47286,"date":"2026-08-27T16:27:44","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T14:27:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/?p=47286"},"modified":"2026-08-27T16:27:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T14:27:44","slug":"wfp-warns-of-aid-cut-to-refugees-idps-in-south-sudan-from-october","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/27\/wfp-warns-of-aid-cut-to-refugees-idps-in-south-sudan-from-october\/","title":{"rendered":"WFP warns of aid cut to refugees, IDPs in South Sudan from October"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Lodu William Odiya<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that it could be forced to suspend food assistance to hundreds of thousands of refugees and internally displaced people in South Sudan from 1st October 2026 if additional funding is not urgently secured.<\/p>\n

WFP South Sudan Country Director Mutinta Chimuka said the agency has already raised the alarm that by the end of September, it may no longer have sufficient resources to provide food assistance to approximately 650,000 refugees and nearly 200,000 internally displaced people across the country.<\/p>\n

Chimuka said the funding shortage could force WFP to cut its food assistance pipeline unless new resources are mobilised.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis means that after September, if we do not get additional resources, we may have to cut off that pipeline,” Chimuka said.<\/p>\n

She welcomed support from partners such as the Government of Japan but stressed that the scale of the humanitarian needs requires additional assistance from the international community.<\/p>\n

The warning comes as South Sudan continues to face severe food insecurity, displacement, and humanitarian challenges affecting millions of people.<\/p>\n

Chimuka said WFP is not only focusing on emergency food assistance but is also investing in longer-term solutions aimed at helping vulnerable communities become more self-reliant.<\/p>\n

She said the agency is working with partners, including the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), UNHCR, and IOM, to support agricultural activities and strengthen resilience among communities.<\/p>\n

According to Chimuka, some communities are already benefiting from programs that enable people to grow crops and generate income.<\/p>\n

She cited recent activities in Aweil, where communities supported by WFP and other partners have been able to grow crops such as okra and aubergines in areas with access to water.<\/p>\n

Small-scale milling activities have also helped some households improve their food security while generating income through the sale of agricultural products.<\/p>\n

However, Chimuka stressed that such long-term interventions depend heavily on peace and security.<\/p>\n

She said South Sudan has significant agricultural potential and could become food-sufficient in the long term if communities are provided with security, resources, and the necessary support to produce their own food.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeace and security are paramount,” she said, calling for stronger cooperation between humanitarian organisations and South Sudanese authorities, particularly the Ministry of Agriculture and other relevant institutions.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management said the government is taking steps to respond to the looming funding crisis.<\/p>\n

William Chan Achuil, undersecretary in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, said the government and the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC) were notified by WFP about the potential suspension of food assistance from October.<\/p>\n

Achuil said the ministry has prepared a proposal seeking government funding to help address the gap and support vulnerable populations.<\/p>\n

The proposal, he said, was presented to the humanitarian cluster led by Vice President Mama Rebecca Nyandeng de Mabior for review and endorsement before it is taken to the Council of Ministers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have taken the initiative by setting up a proposal that we presented yesterday (Tuesday) to the humanitarian cluster led by the VP, Mama Nyandeng, for review and endorsement. Once it is approved, we will also take it to the Council of Ministers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said the proposed emergency funding would particularly target IDPs, returnees, and people who continue to return to the country, whom the government considers its responsibility.<\/p>\n

Achuil said the government could also support refugees if resources permit, while noting that international humanitarian assistance remains critical to meeting the needs of refugees.<\/p>\n

The government has also welcomed Japan’s recent contribution to WFP and appealed to other donors and international partners to increase support before the potential October cutoff.<\/p>\n

Officials warned that without additional funding, vulnerable people, including refugees, IDPs, returnees, and host communities, could be left without essential food assistance at a time when humanitarian needs remain extremely high.<\/p>\n

The government expressed appreciation to Japan for its continued support and called for stronger cooperation between South Sudan, Japan, the WFP, and the wider humanitarian community.<\/p>\n

For WFP, the immediate priority remains ensuring that vulnerable families do not go without food while simultaneously supporting communities to build resilience and strengthen their ability to produce food.<\/p>\n

But without urgent funding and improved security, humanitarian agencies warn that both emergency assistance and longer-term recovery efforts could face serious setbacks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Lodu William Odiya The World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that it could be forced to suspend food assistance to hundreds of thousands of refugees and internally displaced people in South Sudan from 1st October 2026 if additional funding is not urgently secured. WFP South Sudan Country Director Mutinta[Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":47287,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[80,79],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Mutinta-Chimuka-WFP-South-Sudan-Country-Director-speaking-to-the-media-on-Wednesday-in-Juba-\u2013-Photo-by-Lodu-William-Odiya.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47286"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47286\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47288,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47286\/revisions\/47288"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}